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MiDDLKTOWN     I'.Al'TIST    ClUnCir, 

At    tiiTie     of    its     I3i-Centennitil. 

]')K  TuiiiD   JIi:ktin(i    IImuse. 


1688  ^,  1888 


CELEBRATION 


OF  THE 


1  Wo    jiundreclth   '^AnniN^ersary 


OF  THF 


First  Baptist  Church, 


MiDDLETOWN,   NEW  JERSEY, 


October  joth,  i888. 


/// 


MacCrellish  &  Quigley, 

Practical  Book  and  Job  Printers, 

Trenton,  N.  J. 


^^ 


Names  of  the  Constituent  Members  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  Middletown,  New  Jersey. 


ORGANIZED  IN  THE  WINTER  OF   1688. 


Richard  Stout, 
Jonathan  Bowne, 
John  Buchman, 
Walter  Hall, 
Jonathan  Holmes, 
William  Cheeseman, 
William  Compton, 
John  Bowne, 
James  Grover, 


John  Stout. 
OB.A.DIAH  Holmes, 
John  Wilson, 
John  Cox, 
George  Mount, 
William  Layton, 
John  Ashton, 
James  Grover,  Jr., 
Thomas  Whitlock. 


NumberTif  Members  October  30th,  1888, 223 


/- ^.  PASTOR, 

Rev.  E.  Everett  Jones,  A.M. 


DEACONS, 

James  Frost,  Charles  Allen,  James  G.  Taylor, 

James  R  Hopping,  Church  Clerk. 


At  a  Sabbath  Morning  Service  held  in  the  month  of  May,  1888, 
it  was 

Voted — B3'  this  Church,  that  a  Bi-Centennial  Celebration  beheld. 

]'oted — ]Most  cordiall}'  and  unanimously,  that  the  New  Jersey  Baptist 
State  Convention  and  New  Jersey  Baptist  Education  Society  be  invited  to 
hold  their  Annual  Meetings  with  us,  on  October  30th  and  31st,  18SS,  to 
join  with  us  in  celebrating  our  Bi-Centennial. 

Voted — That  our  Pastor,  Rev.  E.  Everett  Jones,  and  Brethren  Charles 
Allen,  James  G.  Taylor,  Warren  Conklin,  James  G.  Hopping,  Harvey 
Jenkins,  Daniel  Irwin  and  William  Mount,  be  appointed  a  Committee  of 
Arrangements  for  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration,  in  connection  with  the 
Bi-Centennial  Committee  appointed  by  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  State  Con- 
vention, consi-sting  of  Brethren  I.  C.  W3'nn,  O.  P.  Eaches,  H.  C.  Apple- 
garth,  T.  E.  Vassar,  A.  H.  Sembower,  and  Addison  Parker. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Bi-Centenuial  Committee,  the  fol- 
lowing programme  was  adopted,  presented  and  carried  out,  as  out- 
lined in  this  Memorial  \'olume. 


Order  of  Exercises. 


On  Tuesday  morning,  October  3otli,  1888,  the  "  New  Jersey  Bap- 
tist Education  Society"  held  its  Fifty-first  Annual  Meeting.  Ad- 
dresses were  made  by  Rev.  E.  F.  Y.  Pierce,  Rev.  Addison  Parker, 
Dr.  John  Greene,  and  Dr.  H.  K.  Trask. 

Tuesda)^  afternoon,  at  two  o'clock,  under  the  general  auspices  of 
the  "  New  Jersey  Baptist  State  Convention,"  in  its  Fifty-ninth  Anni- 
versary, the  Bi-Centennial  and  Memorial  Exercises  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  at  Middletown,  N.  J.,  commenced  with  a  Service  of 
Song. 


e)onc|,       .        .        .        .     '  .        .        'M  He   G/luirch's  Wei 

By  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Wtirdemann,  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
One  of  our  Church  Members. 

We  praise  our  God  for  this  glad  day, 
That  we  may  greet  you  face  to  face  ; 

While  heart  and  voice  unite  and  say 
Welcome,  thrice  welcome,  to  this  place. 

This  Church,  our  home  !  alike  we  love 
Its  present  good,  its  memories  sweet ; 

So  praise  our  God,  while  Saints  above 
The  welcome  and  the  praise  repeat. 


come. 


•Address  of  Welcome,      .        .        .        .      IDy    Qi-.    Qi-Veretl  ^ones, 

Pasto7-  of  the  Aliddletoivn  Chtirch. 

Brethren  in  Christ,  and  members  of  the  two  hundred  Baptist  Churches 
of  New  Jersey,  as  Pastor  of  this  grand  old  patriarchal  Church,  and  for 
my  people,  I  extend  to  you  Christian  greeting,  and  bid  you  most  cordial 
welcome  to  the  old,  historic  spot,  to  our  hospitalit}- ,  to  our  hearts  and  to 
our  homes.  We  stand  on  sacred  ground,  thickly  clustered  with  noble 
names  and  grand  achievements.  They  tell  us  we  are  the  old  Mother 
Church,  from  whom  eight  daughter  Churches  have  gone  out,  and  are 
now  as  strong,  as  able,  as  ourselves  ;  but  others  tell  us  she  is  the  mother 
of  17,000  or  more  Baptist  Churches.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  are  vividly 
reminded  to-day  of  the  gathering  home  of  children  and  grandchildren  on 
some  festive  Christmas-tide  around  the  old  homestead.  Children  and 
grandchildren  are  delighted,  and  the  dear  old  faces  of  grandparents  just 
simply  beam  with  pleasure  and  delight  over  their  happ}^  descendants. 

We  are  reminded  of  the  gathering  of  the  tribes  to  Jerusalem  of  old,  at 
the  great  and  joyous  feasts  of  the  Lord,  when  even  the  desert  paths 
through  the  valley  of  Baca  were  as  wells  of  refreshment  for  the  J03'  set 
before  them. 

The  old  Church  is  joyous  to-day  in  beholding  what  God  hath  wrought. 
The  few  have  become  the  many,  and  the  glory  of  God  is  in  it.  It  is  said 
that  at  the  close  of  the  war  between  France  and  Prussia,  in  1866,  the  tri- 
umphant arm}'  of  Prussia  came  to  Berlin  for  its  reception  and  welcome. 
As  each  regiment  approached  the  city  gate  from  the  Thiergarten,  it  was 
halted  by  a  choir  demanding  by  what  right  it  would  enter  the  oxty.  The 
regiment  replied  in  song,  reciting  the  battles  it  had  fought,  the  victories 
it  had  won  ;  then  came  a  welcome  from  the  choir,  "  Enter  into  the  city." 
So  came  on  regiment  after  regiment,  reciting  its  deeds  and  victories,  each 
challenged  and  welcomed  in  loud  chorus.  And  then  thej'  marched  on  in 
triumph  up  the  Linden,  between  rows  of  captured  cannon,  with  the  ban- 


ners  they  liad  borne  and  the  banners  the}^  had  taken,  and  all  of  them 
saluted  the  statue  of  grand  old  Frederick,  the  Creator  of  Prussia.  So  it 
seems  to  me  to-day,  the  hosts  of  God's  elect  have  gathered  here  to  salute 
the  grand  old  Mother  Church,  and  with  songs  and  tokens  of  victory  are 
marching  together,  singing  hallelujahs  and  laying  their  trophies  at  His 
feet  who  hath  brought  us  off  more  than  conquerors.  Trusting  these 
anniversary  services  may  make  strong  and  lasting  impressions  on  the 
Church  here,  and  on  all  the  Churches  represented,  and  may  be  far-reach- 
ing in  their  influences,  far  out  beyond  all  our  calculations,  we  bid  you  all 
again,  most  cordial  welcome. 


©pening   'Address, B}'   P-    W-    Aye 

President  of  the  Neiu  Jersey  Baptist  State  Convention. 


Historical  Sketch  1^ 

OF   THE 

FIRST  BfiPTIST  CHURCH  OF  MIDDLETOWN,  NEW  JERSEY. 


BY  WHEELOCK  H.  PARMLY,  D.D. 


Lord  Macaulay  has  somewhere  written,  "  A  people  which  takes  no  pride  in 
the  noble  achievements  of  remote  ancestors,  will  never  achieve  anything 
worthy  to  be  remembered  with  pride  by  remote  descendants." 

This  sentiment  of  Macaulay  I  fully  adopt,  and  it  will  apply  with  equal  force 
to  individual  Christians,  and  to  Christian  Churches.  I  adopt,  also,  another  sen- 
timent, of  the  late  David  B.  Stout,  the  once  honored  Pastor  of  the  Middletown 
Church.  He  says :  "  He  who  studies  history,  lives  twice — he  lives  in  imagina- 
tion in  the  ages  that  preceded  him,  as  well  as  in  that  in  which  his  own  frail 
life  is  fast  ebbing  away."  We  are  making  history,  and  this  thought  should 
inspire  us  so  to  live  and  act,  that  to  others,  who  may  read  our  history  in  future 
generations,  it  may  appear  that  we  served  our  own  generation,  both  according 
to  the  will  of  God  as  well  as  to  the  best  of  our  ability. 

In  preparing,  at  your  request,  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  at  Middletown,  I  remark  at  the  beginning,  that  I  perceive  that  you 
have  assigned  me  a  difficult  task,  inasmuch  as  I  am  not  a  Bi-Centenarian,  con- 
sequently can  make  no  statements  as  to  her  ancient  history,  as  an  eye-witness ; 
neither  was  I  ever  anything  in  her  history  but,  for  a  brief  period,  an  humble 
and  loyal  member  in  her  fold.  But  the  task  becomes  more  difficult  inasmuch 
as  there  are  in  existence  histories  of  this  body,  written  by  excellent  and  hon- 
ored brethren,  which  differ  widely  in  many  of  their  statements  from  each 
other. 

In  considering  these  differences  of  statements,  however,  let  us  not  judge  too 
harshly,  for  when  this  Church  was  formed  in  theX'olony  of  New  Jersey,  the 

(9) 


lO 

element  of  religious  toleration  was  not  practiced  as  it  is  to-day.  In  England, 
whence  most  of  the  inhabitants  emigrated,  the  people  had  been  in  a  turmoil 
between  Romanism  and  Protestantism  for  several  scores  of  years.  Charles  I. 
had  lost  his  head  in  1649,  by  reason  of  his  attempts  at  persecution,  and  the 
very  year,  1688,  when  this  Church  takes  its  date,  was  that  in  which  England 
passed  the  bill  of  the  Protestant  succession  to  the  throne  ;  while  on  the  Conti- 
nent, Louis  XIV  committed,  in  1685,  one  of  the  greatest  mistakes  ever  recorded 
in  the  history  of  France.  By  the  edict  of  Nantes,  published  by  Henry  IV  in 
1598,  the  terrible  persecution  of  the  Huguenots  ceased,  and  for  eighty-seven 
years  their  increase  and  prosperity  were  amazing  in  every  respect.  But  by  the 
revocation  of  that  edict  in  1685,  oppression  and  persecution  overreached  them- 
selves, and  400,000  of  the  most  industrious,  the  most  intelligent,  and  the  most 
religious  citizens  of  the  nation  of  France,  with  all  their  skill  and  influence  of 
every  kind,  fled  from  their  native  homes  like  frightened  sheep,  to  find  safety 
in  this  and  other  Colonies,  rather  than  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  Romanism. 

During  such  a  period,  and  amid  such  various  influences,  arose  this  Mother 
Church.  That  difi'erences  of  opinion  should  exist  under  such  circumstances,  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at.  The  wonder  really  is  that  so  much  that  we  can  rely 
upon  has  been  preserved.  And  it  is  a  matter  of  devout  gratitude  that,  notwith- 
standing all  the  conflicting  statements  that  from  time  to  time  have  been  made, 
there  exist  certain  general  facts,  so  well  authenticated  that  all  persons  can  and 
ought  fully  to  agree  in  sustaining  them.    Among  them  are  the  following  : 

1.  The  Baptist  historian,  David  Benedict,  in  his  history,  pp.  581-2,  states  on 
the  authority  of  Morgan  Edwards  that  about  the  year  1660  some  few  Baptists 
were  found  among  the  first  settlers,  and  by  difi'erent  arrivals  they  continued 
to  increase  very  slowly  for  about  thirty  years,  and  that  about  that  time,  that  is 
in  1688,  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Middletown  was  formed. 

While  all,  so  far  as  my  examination  has  gone,  readily  acknowledge  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Church  at  this  time,  there  are  some  like  the  historian,  Morgan 
Edwards,  who,  in  his  "Materials  towards  a  History  of  the  Baptists  in  New 
Jersey,"  published  in  1792,  while  recognizing  the  complete  formation  of  1688, 
claim  that  there  was  an  incomplete  formation  in  1068.  He  uses  the  following 
language :  "  For  the  origin  of  this  Church — of  1688 — we  must  look  back  to 
the  year  1667,  for  that  was  the  year  when  Middletown  was  purchased  from  the 
Indians  by  twelve  men  and  twenty-four  associates.  Their  names  were  in  the 
town  book.    Of  these  the  following  were  Baptists,  viz.: 

"  1.  Richard  Stout. 

"  2.  Jonathan  Bowne. 

"  3.  John  Buchman. 

"  4.  Walter  Hall. 


II 

"5.  Jonathan  Holmes. 
"6.  William  Cheeseman. 
"7.  William  Compton. 
"  8.  John  Bowne. 
"  9.  James  Grover. 

"  10.  John  Stout. 

"  11.  Obadiah  Holmes. 

"  12.  John  Wilson. 

"  13.  John  Cox. 

"  14.  George  Mount. 

"  15.  William  Layton. 

"  16.  John  Ashton. 

"  17.  James  Grover,  Jr. 

"  18.  Thomas  Whitlock. 

"  It  is  probable,"  lie  continues,  "  that  some  of  the  above  had  wives  of  their 
way  of  thinking.  However,  the  aforesaid  eighteen  men  were  the  constituents 
of  the  Church  of  Middletown,  and  the  winter  of  1668  the  time." 

"  Much  of  the  early  history  of  this  ancient  Church  is  wrapt  in  obscurity  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  faithful  records  of  their  organization.  Benedict, 
for  instance,  dates  their  origin  to  1667,  and  from  the  identity  of  names  found 
upon  the  town  book,  and  from  the  list  of  Church  members,  he  concludes  that 
the  Baptists  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  the  town.  Hence,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  from  the  above  date,  1667,  until  1688  they  were  occasionally  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  the  Gospel  from  itinerant  ministers,  as  well  as  frequent  meet- 
ings for  prayer  and  exhortation  by  brethren  from  their  midst." 

From  the  most  careful  examination  of  Benedict  and  Backus  and  Armitage 
and  all  the  other  authorities  living  or  dead  which  I  liave  been  able  to  consult, 
I  have  seen  nothing  to  conflict  with  these  statements,  both  as  to  the  dates  and 
the  origin  and  the  constituents  of  this  venerable  Church. 

There  are,  indeed,  minor  differences  as  to  the  spelling  of  names  and  the  per- 
sonality of  individuals,  but  no  difi^erences  of  suflicient  importance  to  prevent 
us  from  receiving  these  statements  as  we  ordinarily  receive  the  history  of 
ancient  events  or  of  poetry  or  science. 

In  the  excellent  history  of  the  Holmdel  Church,  prepared  by  Rev.  Thomas 
S.  Griffiths,  I  find  the  following  language,  wliich  is  but  a  confirmation  of  the 
statement  made  :  "  Tlie  Middletown  Church  had,  in  its  beginning,  two  centres 
in  the  township  of  Middletown,  at  each  of  which  the  Baptist  settlers  predomi- 
nated, where  they  erected  meeting-houses,  worshiping  and  transacting  the 
Church  business  in  them  alternately.  One  of  these  was  the  village  of  Middle- 
town,  the  other  was  Baptisttown,  or  the  Academy.    Baptisttown  fitly  desig- 


12 

nated  its  religious  type.  It  was  a  Baptist  settlement.  Each  place  and  assembly 
is  designated  in  the  Church  records.  That  at  Baptisttown  as  the  '  Upper 
Meeting  House,'  and  the  congregation  as  the  '  Upper  Congregation,'  and  that 
at  Middletown  village  as  the  '  Lower  Meeting  House,'  and  the  congregation  as 
the  '  Lower  Congregation.'  These  congregations  were  absolutely  one,  sharing 
equally  in  the  responsibility  and  privileges  of  the  Church." 

All  these  facts,  which  are  either  admitted  or  implied  by  the  writers  I  have 
named,  are  conclusive  evidence  that  there  was  a  bod}'  of  Baptists  in  Middle- 
town  who  were  united  in  sentiment ;  whose  organization  was  more  or  less 
complete  after  1668  ;  whose  membership  covered  a  territory  that  now  comprises 
Monmouth,  Ocean,  Mercer  and  a  part  of  Middlesex  counties  ;  that  it  embraced 
men  of  wealth  and  talent  and  influence ;  that  John  Bowne,  James  Ashton, 
Richard  Stout,  Jonathan  Holmes  and  others  conducted  worship  among  them. 
In  what  places  in  this  vast  territory  they  preached,  and  whether  these  brethren 
were  ordained  or  unordained,  are  questions  of  small  importance.  They  settled 
themselves,  as  all  agree,  in  1688,  into  a  complete  Church  state,  holding  their 
worship  unitedly  in  two  separate  sanctuaries.  Near  the  close  of  the  century 
they  fell  into  a  quarrel  and  divided  into  two  factions,  so  that  in  1712  we  find 
them  in  great  difficulty.  Schism  and  discord,  bitterness  and  wrangling,  seemed 
likely  to  rend  the  body.  Under  these  painful  circumstances  they  agreed  to 
call  in  and  abide  by  the  advice  of  a  council.  The  names  of  the  members  of  it 
were  Timothy  Brooks,  Abel  Morgan,  Joseph  Wood,  Elisha  Thomas,  Nicholas 
Johnson,  James  James,  Griffith  Miles,  Edward  Church,  William  Betridge  and 
John  Manners.  Their  report  is  recorded  at  length  on  the  Church  book,  and  is 
a  document  of  singular  importance  and  interest.  It  commences  thus :  "  With 
respect  to  the  present  state  and  condition  of  the  Church  of  baptized  believers, 
yearly  meeting  at  Middletown  and  Crosswicks  and  adjacent  places  in  East 
Jersey,  we,  the  associated  Ministers  and  messengers  sent  from  the  Churches 
of  the  same  faith  and  order  in  divers  other  places,  being  met  at  the  above- 
named  Middletown,  May  24th,  25th  and  26th,  1712.  '  They  advised  them  to 
bury  all  former  disputes  and  contentions,  to  erase  all  the  records  in  reference  to 
them,  and  to  subscribe  to  Elias  Keach's  Pastor's  Confession  of  Faith  and 
Church  Covenant  thereto  annexed.' " 

In  accordance  with  this  advice  four  leaves  were  cut  out  of  the  Church 
records.  Happy  results  followed  the  advice  of  this  council,  and  peace  and 
harmony  were  restored.  James  Bolen,  the  former  Clerk  of  Monmouth  county, 
was  unanimously  elected  Clerk  of  the  Church.  The  membership  at  that  time 
was  66.  And  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  creditable  alike  both  to  Pastors  and  peo- 
ple, that  during  all  their  history  of  two  hundred  years  this  is  the  only  advisory 
council  of  which  there  is  any  record. 


13 

And  now  having  settled,  so  far  as  I  believe  we  can  confidently  settle,  from 
any  documents  now  in  our  possession,  the  origin  and  constitution,  as  well  as 
the  history,  of  this  venerable  Church  up  to  the  year  1712,  let  us  pursue  its 
remarkable  subsequent  history;  and  it  is  but  justice  here  to  notice  that  the 
ancient  Church  record-book,  the  only  one  they  ever  had,  is  in  itself  an  interest- 
ing relic.  It  is  a  well-preserved  ledger,  bound  in  vellum,  The  first  record  is 
headed  thus:  "At  ye  yearly  meeting  May  ye  24th  Anno  Dom  1712."  But, 
carefully  as  this  book  has  been  preserved,  with  the  four  leaves  cut  out  at  that 
time  by  the  advice  of  the  council,  we  have  no  other  authentic  history  preserved 
by  the  Church  of  an  earlier  date.  Consequently,  the  historian  must  depend 
either  on  subsequent  records  or  tradition  or  on  the  memory  of  individuals  for 
any  subsequent  statements  he  may  make ;  and,  without  intending  any  reflection, 
either  upon  the  living  or  the  dead,  and  perhaps  at  the  risk  of  severe  criticism, 
after  a  careful  examination  I  am  compelled  to  pronounce  the  minutes  exceed- 
ingly meagre,  as  furnishing  a  full  and  reliable  history. 

And  here  I  desire  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Rev.  David  B.  Stout, 
Eev.  T.  S.  Griffiths,  Rev.  E.  J.  Foote  and  Hon.  Edwin  Salter,  whose  sketches 
have  all  been  quoted  by  me.  To  others,  also,  who  have  furnished  information, 
I  return  thanks  once  for  all.  I  shall  not  farther  quote  them  by  name,  but  give 
my  deliberate  conclusions  from  whatever  sources  they  may  be  drawn. 

1.  The  first  Pastor  after  the  council  was  Rev.  John  Burrowes,  who  was  elected 
in  1713.  He  subscribed  with  his  own  hand  to  Elias  Reach's  confession  of  faith 
and  covenant.  He  is  reported  to  have  come  from  Somersetshire,  in  England, 
to  have  been  a  successful  Minister,  and  to  have  remained  with  them  the  rest 
of  his  life. 

2.  The  next  Pastor  was  Rev.  George  Eaglesfield,  who  was  elected  in  1731, 
and  continued  to  preach  among  them  till  his  death,  in  1733.  We  have  no  other 
record  of  him  than  this. 

3.  The  next  Pastor  was  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  A.  M.,  who  was  chosen  Pastor  in 
1738,  and  who  continued  his  ministry  among  them  till  his  death,  in  1785,  the 
longest  Pastorate  and,  probably,  the  most  gifted  Minister  the  Church  ever  had. 
So  much  has  already  been  justly  written,  and  so  much  more  will  be  said  on 
this  occasion,  about  this  faithful  servant  of  God,  that  I  shall  make  but  a  few 
quotations  from  others  about  him  in  this  paper.  In  the  the  old  Church  book 
already  referred  to,  we  find  the  following  record  at  the  time  of  his  death : 
"The  Rev.  Mr.  Abel  Morgan  was  born  in  the  State  of  Delaware,  April  the  18th, 
1713.  He  departed  this  life  Nov.  the  2-ith,  1785,  near  6  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
in  the  township  of  Middletown,  county  of  Monmouth,  State  of  New  Jersey." 
He  was  one  of  the  strong  men  of  his  da}^  pre-eminently  prepared  for  the  arduous 
pioneer  work,  which  in  that  early  history  of  the  country  he  was  called  to  per- 


14 

form.  He  laid  broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  truth,  and  to  the  labors  of 
such  men  are  to  be  attributed,  under  God,  the  prosperity  and  success  which,  as 
a  denomination,  we  are  permitted  to  enjoy.  His  Ministry  was  faithful  and 
pungent.  In  labors  he  was  abundant,  as  a  friend  he  was  affectionate  and  con- 
fiding, and  his  memory  will  ever  be  fragrant  among  all  the  lovers  of  our  Holy 
Religion.  I  have  not  been  able,  for  the  want  of  records,  to  ascertain  the  num- 
ber he  baptized,  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  was  quite  large.  He  gave  by  will 
to  the  Church,  for  the  use  of  the  Pastor,  his  library,  which  consisted  of  many 
rare  and  valuable  works — valuable  because  of  their  antiquity,  some  of  the 
volumes  being  three  hundred  years  old.  As  our  Brother,  Rev.  E.  J.  Foote,  in  his 
sketch  of  Abel  Morgan,  written  in  1883,  furnished  a  correct  list  of  this  valuable 
library  I  shall  spend  no  time  in  describing  it.  He  preached  more  than  5,000 
sermons  during  his  Pastorate  at  Middletown,  and  left  manuscript  preparations 
for  the  pulpit,  all  dated  and  numbered,  amounting  to  10,000.  He  was  a  won- 
derful man  in  every  respect.  The  excellent  Samuel  Jones,  D.D.,  of  lower 
Dublin,  in  his  century  sermon  before  the  Philadelphia  Association,  preached 
October  6th,  1807,  speaking  of  the  Middletown  Pastors,  describes  him  as  "  the 
incomparable  Abel  Morgan,"  while  Edwards  says  of  him,  "  He  was  not  a  custom 
divine  nor  a  leading  string  divine,  but  a  Bible  divine." 

4.  The  next  Pastor  was  Rev.  Samuel  Morgan,  a  nephew  of  Abel  Morgan,  who 
held  the  office  a  little  more  than  six  years,  and  baptized  during  that  time  sixty- 
five  members  into  the  Church.  The  only  farther  record  I  find  of  him  says  that 
Samuel  Morgan  was  born  at  Welsh  Tract,  August  23d,  1750 ;  that  he  was 
ordained  at  Middletown,  November  29th,  1785,  at  which  time  he  took  on  him 
the  care  of  the  Church.  The  ordination  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Peter 
Wilson,  of  Hightstown,  November  29th,  1785,  two  days  after  he  preached  the 
funeral  sermon  of  Rev.  Abel  Morgan.  He  died  in  1794,  and  was  buried  at  or 
near  Holmdel. 

5.  The  next  Pastor  was  Rev.  Benjamin  Bennet.  He  took  the  oversight  of 
the  Church  in  1792.  "  He  was  a  man  of  energy  and  enterprise.  His  preaching 
was  said  to  be  above  mediocrity."  He  continued  his  labors  with  the  Church 
until  1815,  when  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States,  in  which  office  he  served  until  1819.  Consequently,  his 
connection  with  the  Church  as  Pastor  was  dissolved.  During  his  ministry  of 
twenty-three  years  he  baptized  fifty  persons.  He  died  on  October  8th,  1840, 
and  was  buried  near  Holmdel. 

6.  The  next  Pastor  was  Rev.  Augustine  Eliot,  who  for  about  two  years 
ministered  to  the  Church,  and  during  that  time  was  permitted  to  baptize  nine- 
teen persons. 


15 

Then  it  appears  succeeded  a  period  when  they  were  pastorless,  and  they  so 
reported  themselves  to  their  Association  (the  New  York  Baptist  Association), 
in  1820.  But  meantime,  I  judge,  they  were  served  by  acceptable  supplies,  and 
among  them  a  beloved  Brother  Hand,  who  had  not  yet  been  ordained,  but 
whose  labors  among  them  were  blessed. 

7.  Afterwards  there  succeeded  to  the  pastorate,  in  1822,  Rev.  William  King, 
whose  term  of  service  continued  for  three  years,  during  which  time  he  bap- 
tized thirty  persons.  But  this  man  proved  himself  a  bad  Shepherd,  and  left 
the  Church  very  suddenly.  The  same  man  was  reported  to  the  New  York 
Association,  in  1829,  from  the  Cayuga  (N.  Y.)  Association,  as  an  impostor,  and 
I  presume  was  at  that  time  deposed  from  the  ministry. 

8.  The  next  Pastor  was  the  excellent  Thomas  Roberts,  who  was  elected  to 
this  office  in  1825.  The  account  which  this  Brother  gives  in  his  autobiography 
(p.  36)  of  his  settlement  with  the  Church  is  most  interesting.  I  will  here  quote 
a  few  sentences  from  an  interview  held  at  this  time  at  the  "  Upper  House," 
now  Holmdel,  between  Judge  Jehu  Patterson,  for  many  years  a  pillar  in  the 
Middletown  Church,  and  himself  on  this  subject.  The  Judge  had  asked  him 
whether  he  would  be  willing  to  settle  with  them  as  Pastor.  Mr.  Roberts'  reply 
was  characteristic.  He  writes:  "  I  told  him  that  such  was  my  love  of  peace 
and  harmony  among  brethren  that  I  could  neither  labor  nor  live  where  they 
were  absent.  Judge  Patterson  replied  that  all  their  disagreement  was  concern- 
ing Mr.  King,  and  went  on  to  say,  '  This  imposture  is  evident  and  is  becoming 
more  so  every  day,  so  that  soon  all  will  be  convinced  of  the  deplorable  fact.' 
As  he  said,  so  it  came  to  pass,  and  all  were  happy  to  know  that  their  King  had 
fled,  and  glad  to  see  the  good  old  Baptist  republic  restored  to  the  ancient 
Church." 

Can  any  one  wonder  that  with  a  Pastor  of  such  a  spirit,  even  though  he 
served  a  Church  worshiping  in  two  large,  separate  sanctuaries,  and  covering  a 
territory  of  at  least  twenty  miles  in  diameter,  they  should  dwell  together  as 
Pastor  and  people  for  twelve  whole  years  in  the  most  perfect  harmony  and 
unity  ?  This  is,  in  part  at  least,  explained  by  his  immediate  successor,  Rev. 
David  B.  Stout,  who  says  of  him:  "  Mr.  Roberts'  labors  were  not  in  vain  in 
the  Lord ;  he  baptized  during  his  ministry  one  hundred  and  forty-five  persons. 
He  lived  in  the  affections  of  his  people,  his  praise  is  in  all  the  Churches  of  the 
saints,  and  his  memory  will  long  be  cherished  by  all  Christians."  When  he 
parted  with  the  Church,  their  next  letter  to  the  ^Association,  in  1837,  after  they 
had  settled  his  successor,  contains  the  following  reference  to  it:  *'  We  parted 
with  one  of  the  best  of  men  and  one  whom  we  dearly  loved."  This  state  of 
things  is  farther  explained  by  himself  in  his  autobiography  (pp.  39,  40),  where 
he  speaks  of  the  wonderfnl  brotherly  love  and  unanimity  which  has  marked 


i6 

their  history,  and  then  asks  the  suggestive  question,  "  May  not  the  influence  of 
this  Mother  Church,  in  her  early  days,  when  that  eminent  man  of  God,  Abel 
Morgan,  presided  over  her,  under  God,  be  among  the  influences  that  has 
brought  about  this  happy  state  of  things  ?  "  Can  there  be  more  than  one,  and 
that  an  affirmative,  answer  to  such  a  question  ?  On  the  same  page  ot  this  auto- 
biography he  makes  the  following  remarkable  statement :  "  During  the  whole 
time  I  served  this  beloved  Church,  I  have  no  recollection  of  one  unpleasant 
circumstance  to  mar  our  happiness  as  a  Church.  The  membership  maintained 
a  circumspect  deportment,  letting  their  light  shine  endeavoring  to  keep  the 
unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  God  was  glorified  in  them.''  I 
speak  in  part  from  personal  knowledge  when  I  say  that  I  think  it  no  injustice 
when  I  place  Thomas  Eoberts  second  only  to  Abel  Morgan,  as  a  Pastor  of  this 
venerable  Church. 

9.  The  next  Pastor  was  David  B.  Stout,  who  was  unanimously  chosen  on 
April  1st,  1837,  and  never,  perhaps,  was  a  Church  more  blessed  than  this  Church 
in  making  such  a  selection.  He  came  to  them  from  Lambertville,  New  Jersey, 
in  the  strength  of  mature  manhood,  with  five  years  of  experience,  and  for  a 
period  of  thirty-eight  years  went  in  and  out  before  the  people  as  a  workman 
who  needed  not  to  be  ashamed.  The  first  letter  of  the  Church  to  the  Associa- 
tion after  his  settlement  in  1837,  contained  this  sentence:  "  We  are  all  united 
in  our  new  Pastor,  Brother  D.  B.  Stout."  That  was  the  keynote  of  his  long 
and  successful  pastorate. 

We  have  now  followed  the  history  of  this  Mother  Church  and  her  Pastors 
to  a  period  when  many  of  the  living  can  speak  from  personal  knowledge  and 
experience,  and  none  can  successfully  deny  that  David  B.  Stout,  while  natur- 
ally of  a  modest  and  retiring  disposition,  yet  possessed  a  most  genial  spirit. 
He  loved  men,  and  was  thoroughly  devoted  to  his  life-work.  Surrounded  at 
the  time  of  his  seitlement  by  a  Church  of  154  members  true  and  faithful,  he 
knew  how  so  to  improve  his  opportunity  that  in  a  few  mouths,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  he  witnessed  a  most  powerful  revival.  During  the  year  1838  he  baptized 
76  persons  into  the  Church.  That  j'ear  the  work  became  so  great  that  he  called 
to  his  aid  Rev.  Frederick  Ketchum,  a  recent  graduate  from  Hamilton  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  who  afterwards  became  a  most  useful  evangelist,  both  in  New 
Jersey  and  in  the  West.  The  whole  surrounding  region,  including  Red  Bank 
and  Shrewsbury,  where  there  was  no  Baptist  Church  at  that  time,  was  entirely 
changed  by  that  work  of  grace.  The  late  Dr.  Greenleaf  S.  Webb,  then  Pastor 
in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  described  that  work,  iu  the  writer's  presence, 
as  filling  the  whole  region  from  Middletown  to  Burlington,  N.  J.,  with  the 
power  of  saving  truth.  Pastor  Stout  continued  his  almost  indefatigable  labors 
till,  in  1851,  he  was  permitted  to  baptize  236  converts  into  the  Church,  and  the 


17 

membership  increased  to  567— the  highest  number  ever  reported  by  the 
(Church. 

He  makes  the  following  report  of  that  great  revival  in  1851 :  "  The  hearts  of 
professors  were  broken  and  melted  in  love  ;  brethren  went  everywhere,  talk- 
ing and  praying  with  the  unconverted,  and  what  seemed  the  more  remarkable 
was,  that  wherever  they  went  the  Spirit  of  God  had  been  there  before  them. 
It  has  been  supposed  that  upon  an  area  of  five  miles  around  the  Church,  not 
less  than  500  persons  were  converted  during  that  period."  The  largest  number 
of  baptisms  by  Mr.  Stout  at  any  one  time  was  82,  on  the  12th  of  January,  and 
it  was  performed  with  ease,  and  without  haste,  in  thirty-eight  minutes.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  converts  were  adults,  and  the  larger  number  of  them  were 
males. 

From  the  excellent  statistical  report  of  Rev.  E.  J.  Foote,  seemingly  the  best 
statistical  report  that  has  come  to  hand,  I  learn  that  during  the  thirty-eight 
years  of  Mr.  Stout's  ministry  he  baptized  into  the  Church  661  members.  From 
the  same  report  I  learn  that  from  the  year  1809  to  1837  other  ministers  bap- 
tized 196,  and  that  Mr.  Foote  baptized  during  his  ministry  from  1875  to  1883 
63  persons.  Added  to  these,  as  reported  by  Rev.  D.  B.  Stout,  must  be  65  bap- 
tized by  Rev.  Samuel  Morgan  between  1785  and  1792,  and  50  that  were  baptized 
by  Rev.  Benjamin  Bennet  after  1792,  making  an  aggregate  of  1,030  baptisms 
between  1785  and  1883. 

To  this  number  we  are  glad  to  report  and  add  baptisms — by  Rev.  E.  J.  Foote, 
63  ;  by  Rev.  F.  A.  Douglass,  13  ;  by  Rev.  E.  Everett  Jones,  26 ;  total,  102. 

This  last  number  (102),  added  to  the  1030,  makes  an  aggregate  of  baptisms 
into  this  Church  as  reported  between  the  years  1785  and  1888,  1132.  In  this 
reckoning,  on  account  of  the  imperfect  records,  we  leave  out  all  the  baptisms 
which  were  administered  during  the  97  years  which  preceded  the  ministry  of 
Rev.  Samuel  Morgan. 

In  the  sketch  of  the  Church,  by  Hon.  Edwin  Salter,  of  New  Jersey,  pub- 
lished in  1888,  he  reports  that  during  Mr.  Stout's  pastorate  "he  had  attended 
and  oflficiated  at  over  600  funerals,  and  that,  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  of  the 
206  members  connected  with  the  Church  he  had  received  all  but  one  male  and 
twelve  females."  The  same  author  closes  his  sketch  of  Mr.  Stout's  ministry 
with  the  following  truthful  and  appropriate  tribute  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stout  : 
"  He  was  a  large-hearted  and  noble  Christian  gentleman,  and,  while  an  earnest 
adherent  to  his  own  faith,  his  loving  soul  called  every  man  his  brother  who 
accepted  an  evangelical  belief  in  the  Saviour.  His  funeral  services  were  held 
in  the  Church,  which  was  filled  to  repletion.  The  carriages  must  have 
numbered  one  hundred  and  fifty,"  and,  as  reported  to  the  present  writer 
(who  could  not  attend),  it  was  the  largest  funeral  ever  witnessed  in  Middletown. 

2 


i8 

10.  The  immediate  successor  of  Rev.  David  B.  Stout  was  Rev.  E.  J.  Foote, 
who  was  called  from  Red  Bank,  and  on  January  2d,  1876,  took  up  the  work 
which  Mr.  Stout  had  so  recently  laid  down.  He  brought  with  him  the  experi- 
ence of  rich,  abundant  and  successful  labors  in  many  fields  of  toil,  and  for 
a  period  of  eight  years  went  in  and  out  faithfully  before  this  people,  gathering 
in  the  sheaves  which  infinite  love  should  send  him.  During  that  period  the 
Lord  gave  him  souls  for  his  hire,  and  permitted  him  to  baptize  63  persons  into 
the  Church,  and  then  by  His  providence  showed  him  another  field,  where  he 
is  still  successfully  engaged  for  his  blessed  Master.  In  18S.T  he  removed  to 
Trenton,  N.  J. 

11.  To  Mr.  Foote  succeeded  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Douglass,  who  was  installed 
as  Pastor  on  December  20th,  1883.  He  brought  to  this  field  a  long  experience, 
both  as  a  Pastor  at  home  and  as  a  Missionary  in  foreign  lands,  and  used  all 
according  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  The  Lord  gave  him  as  seals  to  his  minis- 
try thirteen  converts,  whom  he  baptized  into  the  Church.  After  three  years 
of  faithful  labor,  he  closed  his  pastorate  on  December  31st,  18S6. 

^•^2.  The  present  Pastor,  Rev.  ETlEIvefett  Jones,  commenced  his  ministry  here 
on  April  1st,  1887.  He  was  no  novice  when  he  began,  for  the  Lord  had  blessed 
his  labors  in  other  pastorates.  He  has  continued  to  own  them  in  this  com- 
munity to  a  remarkable  degree,  large  congregations  attend  upon  the  ministry 

\  of  the  Word,  the  Church  are  united  and  harmonious,  and  God  has  granted 
/  him  since  his  settlement  as  seals  to  his  ministry  26  souls,  whom  he  has  bap- 
tized into  the  Church.  Besides  these,  and  placing  a  baptistery  within  these 
hallowed  walls,  and  many  other  things  worthy  of  mention  here,  the  beasts 
have  reason  to  bless  him  and  this  congregation,  for  during  the  past  year  they 
have  done  a  new  thing  under  the  sun,  that  is,  they  have  purchased  a  lot  of 
ground  adjoining  this  Sanctuary  for  one  thousand  dollars,  and  upon  it  have 
erected  24  new  sheds  for  the  horses — a  thing  which  should  have  been  done 
at  any  time  within  the  last  200  years.  If  you  would  see  other  evidences  of 
improvement  about  this  Mother  Church,  look  around  you. 

This  Church  has  also  been  active  in  forming  other  Churches,  either  wholly 
or  in  part.  In  1715,  the  Baptist  Church  at  Hopewell,  Mercer  county,  was 
organized  from  members  who  had  previously  emigrated  from  the  First  Church 
in  Middletown.  This  Church  became  a  very  powerful  and  influential  body, 
and  so  continued  until  about  1814,  when  it  fell  under  the  withering  influence 
of  antinomianism. 

Following  this,  in  1745,  the  Hightstown  Church  took  its  rise  from  this  body. 
It  was  first  called  the  Cranbury  Church,  but  for  many  years  past  has  been  one 
of  the  most  efficient  bodies  in  this  State,  and  has  herself  become  the  mother  of 
several  other  ('hurches. 


19 

The  next  Church  was  Holmdel,  which  was  really  a  division  of  this  Church, 
and  became  necessary  by  reason  of  the  large  growth  of  the  body.  In  1836,  52 
members  were  dismissed  and  became  an  independent  Church.  Their  history 
has  been  one  of  progress  ever  since  their  recognition. 

Four  years  later,  that  is,  in  1840,  Keyport  took  its  rise  out  of  this  Church, 
11  members  having  been  dismissed  from  her  to  constitute  that  body. 

Before  this,  in  the  order  of  time,  that  is,  in  1766,  a  flourishing  Church  was 
formed  in  Crosswicks  from  this  body,  which  is  now  known  as  the  Upper  Free- 
hold Church. 

In  1844  this  Church  dismissed  11  members,  which,  with  others,  were  consti- 
tuted the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Shrewsbury,  located  at  Red  Bank. 

Nine  years  later,  in  1853,  54  members  were  dismissed  for  the  purpose  of  form- 
ing a  Baptist  Church  at  Riceville,  now  known  as  the  Second  Baptist  Church  of 
Middletown.  And  the  next  year,  1854,  64  members  were  dismissed  to  consti- 
tute the  Baptist  Church  at  Port  Monmouth. 

In  addition  to  these  (8)  already  named,  it  is  but  just  to  mention  the  Baptist 
Churches  at  Matawan,  and  Eatontown,  and  Atlantic  Highlands  and  Long 
Branch,  for  all  these  young  Churches  owe  more  or  less  for  their  existence  and 
present  prosperity  to  this  Mother  Church,  and  yet  she  stands  to-day  in  the 
midst  of  her  children  and  grandchildren,  strong  in  membership,  integrity  and 
power,  a  remarkable  evidence  of  the  sustaining  grace  of  God,  as  well  as  a  proof 
of  the  truth  of  the  Scripture,  "There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth." 

But  while  so  engaged  in  prosecuting  her  general  work  of  preaching  the 
Gospel,  this  venerable  Church  has  not  been  idle  in  the  particular  work  to  which 
t  believe  every  Church  should  be  devoted,  and  that  is,  in  raising  up  men  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  During  her  long  history  we  find  several  names  of  brethren 
who  have  been  called,  and  probably  licensed,  by  the  Church  to  preach,  but 
whether  they  were  all  ordained  as  Pastors  is  a  question,  for  there  is  a  lack  of 
historic  proof.     Such  names  in  her  early  history  are  those  of — 

1.  John  Brown. 

2.  James  Ashton,  put  down  by  some  as  the  first  Pastor. 

3.  John  Bray.  They  were  probably  all  Licentiates  and  Lay  Preachers,  but 
not  ordained  Ministers. 

4.  John  Occason  was  called  to  ordination  by  the  Church  in  1667,  and  preached 
throughout  this  extended  field  for  about  45  years. 

5.  James  Carman,  who  was  baptized  in  1692,  was  an  ordained  Minister,  and 
preached  at  Cranbury,  now  Hightstown,  and  other  Churches,  till  the  time  of 
his  death,  at  about  79  years  of  age. 

6.  Samuel  Morgan,  the  fourth  Pastor,  was  called  and  ordained  by  this  Church 
in  1785. 


20 

7.  John  Cook  was  licensed  by  the  Church  in  1789,  and  then  removed  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  lost  sight  of  by  the  Church. 

Then  occurred  about  50  years  when  there  is  no  record  of  license. 

8.  Samuel  Sproul  was  licensed  in  1839.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  pastorate 
of  several  Churches,  chiefly  in  New  Jersey,  with  great  faithfulness  and  success, 
and  died  in  the  midst  of  his  labors,  at  Schooley's  Mountain,  New  Jersey,  July 
26th,  1880,  aged  68  years. 

9.  Kelsey  Walling  was  licensed  and  sent  out  by  the  Church  in  1851,  and  is 
still  in  the  field,  an  active  and  useful  Preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

Besides  these  (9)  there  have  been  and  are  many  others  who,  although  not 
actually  licensed  by,  yet  owe  a  vast  debt  of  gratitude  to  this  Church  for  benefits 
received  from  her  as  members  while  they  were  pursuing  their  studies  preparing 
for  the  ministry.  Among  these  was  Jackson  Smith,  who  was  a  bright  youth, 
but  who,  after  careful  study,  abundant  preparation,  and  a  few  years'  labor  as 
Pastor  of  the  Churches  at  Lyons'  Farms,  Keyport  and  Princeton,  in  this  State, 
was  early  and  mysteriously  called  to  his  reward  in  heaven.  Thomas  S.  Grif- 
fiths, who  became  the  first  Pastor  at  Red  Bank  and  who  is  still  doing  valiant 
service  among  the  Churches  in  this  State.  Wheelock  H.  Parmly,  of  Jersey 
City,  who,  while  preparing  for  college,  was  a  member  of  this  Church  and  after- 
wards was  licensed  by  the  Amity  Street  Baptist  Church,  in  New  York  city, 
under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  William  R.  Williams,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Thus  have  we  briefly  and  imperfectly  sketched  a  few  items  in  the  history  of 
a  Church  whose  life  runs  back  to  near  the  settlement  of  this  country  ;  a  history 
which  embraces  all  the  wars  through  which  this  nation  has  passed ;  a  history 
of  a  Church  which,  throughout,  has  preserved  its  faith  and  integrity  untar- 
nished, and  which,  if  justice  were  done,  it  would  require  a  volume  to 
describe. 

If  this  brief  sketch  shall  aid  in  the  instruction  and  elevation  of  the  present 
generation,  as  well  as  in  giving  a  more  perfect  knowledge  than  we  have  hith- 
erto possessed  of  this  venerable  Mother  Church,  my  end  shall  be  answered  and 
to  God  shall  be  all  the  glory. 


21 


The   Bi-&ntennial    (Jhurcli,     Tlynin;     By   Robert   UowVy,   I).!). 

(  Written  expressly  for  the  occasion.)     Sung  by  the  whole 
congregation  standing. 

O,  Lord,  Thou  art  our  living  head  ; 

What  precious  grace  our  life  has  crowned  ! 
We  seek  Thy  courts  with  reverent  tread, 

And  stand  as  if  on  holy  ground. 

Two  hundred  years  !     O,  who  can  tell 
The  battles  fought,  the  victories  won  ? 

Though  men  who  bore  the  standard  fell, 
The}'  passed  it  on  from  sire  to  son. 

Our  feet  are  where  the  fathers  trod. 
Our  lips  recount  their  deeds  of  love  ; 

As  they  were  true  to  Truth  and  God, 
So  we  will  follow  them  above. 

All  blessed  and  triumphant  they 

Who  dropped  the  sword  for  palm  and  crown  ; 

The  godly  cease  ;  but  we  to-day 
Take  up  the  work  which  they  laid  down. 

Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling  place 

In  all  the  generations  gone  ; 
Uphold  us,  till  we  see  Thy  face 

When  breaks  on  earth  the  heavenl}^  dawn. 


Prayer  was  then  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Symmes,  late  Moderator  of 
the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  (Presbyterian). 

The  commemoration  anthem,  composed  by  Robert  Lowry,  D.D., 
was  then  sung  by  the  choir. 


(Commemoration    Antherq,       .        .        .       JVlusic   by    l|)r.    LfoWry. 

For  Thou,  O,  God,  hast  heard  ui)'  vows  : 

Thou  hast  given  me  the  heritage  of  those  that  fear  Thy  name. 

Thou  wilt  prolong  the  king's  life;  and  his  years  as  many  generations. 

He  shall  abide  before  God  forever  : 

O,  prepare  mercy  and  truth,  which  may  preserve  him. 

So  will  I  sing  praise  unto  Thy  name  forever.     Amen. — Psalms,  6i :  ^-8. 


"Address,        ....        loy     Jloq.     jloratio   (i^ates   IJones. 

The  Hon.  Horatio  Gates  Jones,  of  Philadelphia,  a  third  cousin  of 
the  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  and  who  brought  with  him  an  oil  portrait 
of  that  famous  former  Pastor,  was  then  introduced,  and  made  the 
following  address  as  to  the  life  and  work  of  his  ancestral  relative, 
and  his  great  joy  at  the  privilege  of  being  present  at  this  memorial 
service  : 

Mr.  President  and  Brethren — I  feel  myself  highly  honored  in  hav- 
ing been  invited  to  participate  in  your  Bi-Centennial  Services.  But  you 
have  given  me  more  honor  than  I  deserve,  for  I  am  not,  as  your  President 
announced,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  as  he  had  no  descend- 
ants, for  he  was  a  bachelor.  Still  I  claim  to  be  the  only  living  relative 
of  Mr.  Morgan  present  on  this  occasion.  He  was  a  cousin  of  m}-  grand- 
father, Rev.  David  Jones,  the  Revolutionary  chaplain,  who  spent  several 
years  of  his  youth  in  this  place,  and  studied  divinitj^  with  his  cousin. 
He  also  did  something  else,  and  this  he  did  not  learn  of  your  eminent 
Pastor.  While  here  he  fell  in  love,  and  like  the  majority  of  3^oung  divinity 
students,  as  soon  as  he  was  ordained  he  was  married  by  Mr.  Morgan  to 
Miss  Anne  Stillwell ,  one  of  whose  ancestors  was  descended  from  the  famous 
Obadiah  Holmes.     So  that  to-day  I  feel  flowing  in  my  veins  the  blood  of 


W^i/Oy^ 


Vriddleto-'A'n,     N.   J, 
IPcistor    4:T    years. 


23 

the  brave  hero  who  suffered  for  hi.s  religious  principles  upon  BovSton 
Common,  in  1651.  As  your  Church  and  Pennypack,  Piscataway,  Cohan- 
sey  and  Welsh  Tract  were  the  five  which  formed  the  Philadelphia  Associ- 
ation in  1707,  I  was  accompanied  here  by  the  Rev.  James  W.  Willmarth, 
of  the  Roxborough  Church,  who  is  the  Moderator  of  the  Association. 
We  felt  that,  as  officers  of  our  Association,  it  was  our  duty  as  well  as 
privilege  to  show  our  regard  for  j^our  venerable  Church. 

So  much  has  been  said  bj^  Dr.  Parmley  and  will  be  said  by  Dr.  Baches, 
that  I  need  not  give  you  to-day  any  historical  facts,  and  I  might  now, 
with  propriety,  take  my  seat.  But  I  feel  that  I  must  say  a  few  words 
about  Mr.  Morgan,  to  whose  memory  your  Church  has  erected  a  beautiful 
monument,  soon  to  be  unveiled.  He  was  a  devout  man,  a  scholar  of  very 
considerable  learning,  an  earnest  preacher  of  the  blessed  Gospel  and  a 
powerful  Minister.  He  was  beloved  b}^  his  people,  respected  b}'  his 
brethren,  and  honored  during  all  his  life  by  the  Philadelphia  Association. 
He  believed  and  practiced  what  he  preached.  Although  he  was  a  thor- 
ough Welshman  by  descent,  yet  he  never  attacked  others  who  differed 
from  him,  from  the  mere  love  of  theological  disputation.  But  if  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible  w^ere  misrepresented,  his  spirit  was  roused  at  once,  and 
he  buckled  on  his  armor  and  contended  most  earnestl}'  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints.  This  occurred  most  conspicuously  when  he  pub- 
lished his  two  learned  books  against  the  Rev.  Samuel  Finley,  D.D.,  after- 
wards the  President  of  Princeton  College,  the  ancestor  of  the  celebrated 
Samuel  F.  B.  Morse.  All  who  have  read  those  books  must  admit  that 
Dr.  Finley  found  in  Mr.  Morgan  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel. 

Mr.  President,  we  do  not  live  in  the  past,  nor  in  the  future,  but  in  the 
ever-living  and  changing  present,  surrounded  at  all  times  by  new  duties 
and  extraordinary  events.  We  may,  however,  learn  much  from  the  past, 
and  if  we  are  wise  we  shall  do  so.  As  we  do  thus  look  back  and  trace 
the  onward  progress  made  in  science,  literature,  the  arts  and  the  study  of 
the  Bible,  we  can  devoutly  thank  God  and  take  courage,  for  we  feel  that, 
despite  all  the  attacks  made  against  the  precious  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
the  gates  of  hell  will  not  prevail.  When  two  centuries  shall  have  rolled 
away  into  the  vast  ocean  of  eternit}^  may  we  not  believe,  judging  from 
the  past  history  of  this  Church,  that  amid  all  the  advances  in  the  varied 
departments  of  life,  our  people  will  still  cherish  the  same  love  that  we  do 
for  God  and  the  truths  contained  in  this  blessed  volume  which  he  has 
given  us. 


24 

"  Who'll  press  for  gold  the  crowded  street, 
Two  hundred  years  to  come  ? 
Who'll  tread  these  aisles  with  pious  feet, 

Two  hundred  years  to  come  ? 
Pale,  trembling  age  and  fiery  youth, 
And  childhood  with  its  brow  of  truth. 
The  young  and  old,  on  land  and  sea, 
Where  will  the  countless  people  be 
Two  hundred  years  to  come  ? 

"  We  all  within  our  graves  shall  sleep 
Two  hundred  years  to  come  : 
No  living  soul  for  us  will  weep 
Two  hundred  years  to  come ; 
But  others  then  our  lands  will  till, 
And  others  then  these  seats  will  fill, 
And  others  here  will  preach  and  pray — 
But,  the  same  Gospel  as  to-day. 
Two  hundred  years  to  come." 


25 


Historical  Sketch 

OF     THE 

INCREASE  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  BAPTISTS 

OR, 

Two  Hundred  Years  of  New  Jersey  Baptist 
History. 


BY  O.  P.  EACHES,  D.D. 


A   GLANCE  AT  THE  TIMES. 

In  1688,  it  was  not  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  but  the  Provinces  of  East  and 
West  Jersey.  William  and  Mary  were  upon  the  English  throne.  Not  a 
thought  of  separation  from  the  mother  land  had  ever  come  to  the  minds  of 
the  new  settlers.  The  records  of  the  Dividing  Creek  Church  contain  in  full 
the  King's  proclamation  of  October  31st,  1760.  The  Association,  in  1769,  when 
considering  a  petition  to  the  King  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  Baptist  brother- 
hood in  New  England,  calls  him  "  Our  Gracious  Sovereign."  The  Baptists  were 
loyal  to  Christ  and  to  the  Crown.  The  population  of  the  two  provinces  could 
not  have  been  over  5,000.  In  1740  it  was  only  40.000.  The  remains  of  Indian 
tribes  were  in  the  provinces.  In  1745,  Brainerd  was  giving  his  saintly  life  to 
them.  In  the  records  of  the  Upper  Freehold  Church,  founded  in  1766,  are 
these  words,  giving  a  glimpse  into  the  olden  times:  "  The  first  of  that  way 
(meaning  the  way  of  Christ)  was  one  James  Ashton,  the  eldest  son  of  James 
Ashton,  Baptist  Minister  at  Middletown,  who  came  here  to  Crosswicks,  which 
was  then  a  wild  and  unsettled  place,  but  possessed  with  the  Indians  in  great 
abundance."  In  New  England,  King  Philip's  Indian  War  had  closed  but  a 
few  years  before.  The  news  of  the  glorious  revolution  in  England,  whereby 
despotism  and  papal  supremacy  had  been  driven  away  in  the  person  of  James, 


26 

perhaps  had  not  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  Baptist  fathers  when  thej^  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  Middletown  Church.  John  Bunyan,  about  five  years 
before,  had  published  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress."  Milton,  about  twenty  years 
before,  had  published  his  "  Paradise  Lost."  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  at  this  time,  was 
establishing  the  theory  of  gravitation.  A  few  Baptist  people  on  this  side  of 
the  ocean  were  giving  to  the  world  great  moral  discoveries  in  building  up  a 
community  where  the  conscience  was  unbound.  The  revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes  took  place  three  years  before,  whereby  France  put  upon  herself  a 
curse  that  has  lasted  two  centuries,  and  sent  to  this  country  those  Huguenot 
families,  the  Stelles  and  Runyons  and  Ganos,  by  whose  presence  the  Baptist 
Churches  of  this  State  have  been  enriched.  Baxter  and  Dryden  and  Pascal 
and  John  Locke  were  living.  Some  of  the  constituent  members  of  the  New 
Jersey  Baptist  Churches  were  born  before  the  Pilgrims  saw  Plymouth  Rock. 
Some  of  them  may  have  seen  Cromwell,  or  Milton,  or  Gov.  Winthrop,  or  Miles 
Standish ;  may  have  heard  John  Bunyan,  or  Roger  Williams,  or  John  Clark, 
or  Cotton  Mather,  or  John  Cotton. 

New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  straggling  villages.  Trenton  was  not 
f  junded  for  fifty  years  afterward.  The  era  of  invention  had  not  yet  begun. 
Thousands  of  words  in  our  language  have  been  born  since  that  time.  Wash- 
ington and  the  men  who  were  to  lay  the  foundation  of  our  national  life  were 
not  born  for  half  a  century  afterward.  When  we  dig  down  to  the  foundation 
of  our  Baptist  Churches  we  seem  to  be  living  in  some  far-off  age. 

GENESIS   OF  BAPTIST   CHURCHES. 

Plant  the  Bible  and  Baptists  will  spring  up.  Plant  Baptists  within  a  score  of 
miles  of  each  other  and  Baptist  Churches  will  grow.  Some  of  those  who  came 
across  the  waters  were  Baptists.  Others,  breathing  the  freer  air  of  this  land, 
were  made  such  by  the  study  of  the  Word.  The  Churches  of  our  faith  sprang 
up  on  this  continent  in  this  order : 

Providence,  R.  I 1639 

First  Newport 1644 

Second  Newport 1656 

First  Swansea 1663 

First  Boston 1665 

North  Kingston,  R.  I 1665 

South  Kingston,  R.  1 1680 

Charleston,  S.  C 1683 

Tiverton,  R.I 1685 

Pennepek,  Pa 1688 


27 

When  the  foundations  of  tlie  first  Baptist  Church  of  New  Jersey  were  laid 
there  were  on  this  continent  ten  small  groups,  seemingly  unimportant,  of  bap- 
tized believers ;  all  of  them  having  a  str^g^le  to  live  themselves  and  to  keep 
the  truths  alive  which  they  stood  for.  They  could  not  have  numbered  five 
hundred — perhaps  far  less  than  this  number.  But  we  cannot  measure  the  mag- 
nitude of  a  truth  by  mere  numbers.  At  Marathon  only  192  fell,  yet  twenty- 
five  hundred  years  of  civilization  were  bound  up  in  that  struggle.  In  January, 
1688,  twelve  Baptist  men  and  women  at  Pennepek,  Pa.,  formed  themselves  into 
a  Church.  Let  us  rehearse  their  names — Elias  Keach,  John  Eaton,  George 
Eaton  and  Jane  his  wife,  Sarah  Eaton,  Samuel  Jones,  John  Baker,  Samuel 
Vans,  Joseph  Ashton  and  Jane  his  wife,  William  Fisher  and  John  Watts. 
Their  action  was  a  stimulus  to  the  Jersey  Baptists  to  form  themselves  into 
Churches.  The  brethren  at  Middletown  settled  tiiemselves  into  a  Church  order 
after  consultation  with  the  brethren  at  Pennepek. 

CENTRES    OF    BAPTIST    INFLUENCE. 

Four  Baptist  Churches  in  the  State  may  fittingly  be  called  Mother  Churches, 
because  from  them  have  come,  by  direct  or  indirect  descent,  almost  all  the 
Baptist  Churches  within  our  borders.    These  are — 

Middletown,  established  in 1688. 

Piscataway,  established  in 1689. 

Cohansey,  established  in 1690. 

Cape  May,  established  in 1712. 

MIDDLETOWN, 

in  order  of  time,  stands  first.  For  a  score  of  years  before  1688,  without  doubt, 
there  were  Baptists  here.  The  faith  of  these  old-time  saints  was  kept  alive  by 
meetings  held  in  the  house  of  John  Stout,  and  then  in  a  building  erected  upon 
a  lot  given  by  Capt.  John  Bowne.  Bowne  and  James  Ashton  were  the  prin- 
cipal speakers.  Of  the  thirty-six  persons  who  purchased  the  title  from  the 
Indians,  eighteen  are  said  to  have  been  Baptists.  Rev.  Obadiah  Holmes,  who 
had  witnessed  for  the  truth  of  the  New  Testament  by  being  publicly  whipped 
in  Boston,  one  of  the  proprietors.  Pastor  of  the  Newport  Church  from  1652  to 
1682,  may  have  visited  and  preached  to  these  Baptist  saints  living  in  Mon- 
mouth county.  Rev.  Thomas  Dungan,  Pastor  of  the  Church  in  Cold  Spring, 
Penna.  (a  Church  on  the  Delaware,  founded  in  1684,  which  was  soon  merged 
into  the  Pennepek  Church),  may  have  comforted  their  hearts  by  visiting 
them. 


28 

Let  us  keep  in  memory  the  names  of  these  eighteen  men  who  covenanted 
with  Jesus  Christ  and  with  each  other  to  build  up  the  truth  and  to  strengthen 
each  other : 

Eichard  Stout,  John  Stout, 

William  or  James  Bowne,  Obadiah  Holmes, 

John  Euckman,  John  Wilson, 

Walter  Wall,  Thomas  Cox, 

Jonathan  Holmes,  George  ISIount, 

Wm.  Cheeseman,  Wm.  Layton, 

Wm.  Compton,  James  Ashton, 

John  Bowne,  Thomas  Whitlock, 

James  Grover,  Jr.,  James  Grover, 

Other  men,  whose  names  we  shall  not  know  until  we  meet  them  above,  and 
saintly  women,  not  a  few,  may  also  have  belonged  to  that  first  New  Jersey 
Baptist  Church.  The  Pastor  of  this  Church  was  Pastor  of  all  the  Baptists  in 
the  territory  covered  by  Monmouth,  Mercer,  Ocean  and  a  part  of  Middlesex 
counties.  By  division  of  its  field  and  by  dismission  of  members,  eight 
Churches  have  sprung  from  it.  These,  in  turn,  have  given  birth  to  others,  so 
that  all  the  Churches  in  this  section  of  the  State  may  say  of  Middletown,  She  is 
the  Mother  of  us  all. 

PISCATAWAY 

stands  second  in  the  list.  A  large  tract  on  the  east  side  of  the  Earitan  was 
bought  of  the  Indians,  in  1683.  Among  the  first  settlers  were  people  from 
Piscataqua — now  Dover,  N.  H.  In  this  place  Hanserd  Knollys,  the  distin- 
guished English  preacher,  sowed  Baptist  sentiments  as  early  as  1638.  It  is 
claimed  tliat  of  these  early  settlers  at  least  six  were  Baptists.  These  six  were 
formed  into  a  Gospel  Church  in  1689.  Let  us  record  the  names  of  these  six 
Baptist  worthies :  Hugh  Dunn,  John  Drake,  Nicholas  Bonham,  John  Smalley, 
Edmund  Dunham,  John  Eandolph.  This  newly-formed  Church  was  rich  in 
spirited  leadership — three  of  the  members,  John  Drake,  Hugh  Dunn  and 
Edmund  Dunham,  being  lay-preachers.  The  first  meeting-house,  by  order  of 
the  township,  was  "  built  forthwith,  as  followeth :  dimensions,  twenty  feet 
wide,  thirty  feet  long,  and  ten  feet  between  joints." 

COIIANSEY 

was  formed  in  1690.  In  1683  a  company  of  immigrants,  members  of  the  Clough- 
ketin  Church,  in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  Ireland,  landed  at  Perth  Amboy,  and 
traveled  across  the  country  to  Cohansey  Creek.    In  1685,  Obadiah  Holmes,  (a 


29 

son  of  that  Obadiah  Holmes  whose  back  had  been  scarred  for  the  truth's 
sake,)  arrived  from  New  England.  In  1688,  Elias  Keach,  of  Pennepek,  bap- 
tized three  persons.  At  that  time  Pennepek  Church  embraced  all  the  Baptists 
of  West  Jersey.  The  Lord's  Supper  was  observed  regularly  at  Cohansey  and 
Burlington.  In  1690,  Eev.  Thomas  Killingworth  moved  into  the  neighborhood. 
In  that  year  a  Church  with  nine  male  members  was  formed.  Let  us  record  the 
names  of  these  nine  foundation-men  of  the  Cohansey  Church — Rev.  Thomas 
Killingworth,  David  Sheppard,  Thomas  Abbot,  William  Button,  Obadiah 
Holmes,  John  Cornelius,  Kinner  Vanhj'st,  John  Child,  Thomas  Lamstone.  It 
is  worthy  of  notice  that  in  these  three  old  Churches  there  is  not  a  hint,  from 
tradition,  that  any  women  were  constituent  members.  And  yet  we  feel  justi- 
fied in  thinking  that  there  must  have  been  Godly  women  in  them  all. 

We  ought  to  notice,  to-day,  the  great  worth  of  Rev.  Thomas  Killingworth  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  our  Church  institutions  in  this  State.  He  was  present 
at  Middletown  when  the  Church  was  organized  there.  He  was  present  at  the 
formation  of  the  Piscataway  Church.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Cohansey 
Church  at  its  organization,  and  became  its  first  Pastor.  It  may  be  that  back  of 
all  these  organizations  was  the  power  and  controlling  influence  of  this  man  of 
God  who  came  to  this  country  from  England  soon  after  his  ordination  to  the 
Ministry. 

CAPE   MAY 

had  Baptist  settlers  who  came  from  England  in  1675.  Among  these  were 
George  Taylor  and  Philip  Hill.  Taylor  held  Bible  readings  in  his  own  house. 
Upon  his  death,  in  1702,  Mr.  Hill  took  up  the  work  and  continued  the  meetings. 
Mr.  Keach  preached  here  as  early  as  1688.  The  Church  was  constituted  in  1712, 
with  37  members.  These  four  centers  of  Baptist  influence  are  strong  Churches 
to-day  because  they  gave  so  much  of  their  own  lives  to  beget  other  lives. 

Almost  all  the  Churches  in  the  State  have  descended  from  these  four  Churches, 
or  from  the  migration  of  Baptists  into  this  State  from  other  States  or  foreign 
countries.  One  Church  originated  in  this  way :  A  colony  came  into  North 
Jersey  from  Connecticut,  in  1751.  This  colony  was  a  Church  of  Separatists, 
holding  to  infant  baptism,  but  insisting  upon  regeneration  in  the  membership 
and  an  inner  call  for  the  ministry.  Having  gone  so  far  in  the  truth,  they  were 
led  to  go  further.  They  adopted  believers'  baptism.  The  question  arose 
whether  baptism  by  an  unbaptized  person  was  valid.  They  answered  it  in  the 
affirmative.  Thereupon  Elkanah  Fuller  baptized  William  Marsh,  then  Marsh 
baptized  Fuller.  In  this  manner  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Wantage  origi- 
nated. In  like  manner,  in  1639,  Ezekiel  HoUimau  baptized  Roger  Williams, 
and  then  Williams  baptized  Holliman. 


It  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that  some  extravagances  belonged  to  the  early 
history  of  this  Church.  For  some  years  mixed  communion  prevailed.  This,. 
in  time,  gave  way  to  a  more  scriptural  order.  In  1761,  a  community  of  goods 
prevailed  among  a  large  part  of  the  membership. 

WHY  THEY   CAME  TO   THE  JERSEYS. 

A  number  of  the  early  settlers  in  New  England  held  Baptist  views.  These 
views  were  too  large  for  the  narrow  orthodoxy  of  Massachusetts  and  Connec- 
ticut, No  one  but  a  member  of  the  standing  order  could  be  a  freeman.  The 
doors  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Boston  were  closed  by  order  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court.  Persecution  led  Baptists  in  Wales,  England,  Ireland,  New  England, 
to  seek  a  better  country. 

When  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret  obtained  possession  of  New 
Jersey,  about  1664,  they  formed  a  Bill  of  Rights,  by  which  "  liberty  of  con- 
science to  all  religious  sects  who  behave  well  "  was  guaranteed.  In  this  State, 
for  over  two  hundred  years,  the  Baptists  have  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  an  open 
Bible,  and  the  doors  of  the  meeting-house  never  closed  by  the  State.  Baptists 
held  positions  of  honor  and  trust  in  the  Jerseys  from  the  beginning.  Captain 
John  Bowne,  of  Middletown,  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  in 
1668-1675,  and  Speaker  in  1683.  Jonathan  Holmes,  of  Middletown,  was  a 
Deputy  to  the  Legislature  in  166S.  Rev.  Benjamin  Stelle,  of  Piscataway,  was 
one  of  the  Magistrates  of  the  town.  Rev.  Thomas  Killingworth  and  Obadiah 
Holmes  were  the  first  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Salem  county. 
John  Holme  was  also  a  Judge  of  the  Salem  County  Court.  In  1721,  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Jenkins,  Pastor  of  the  Cape  May  Church,  was  a  member  of  the 
Colonial  Legislature.  A  bill  was  introduced  to  punish  all  who  denied  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  the  Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures. 
Thereupon  brave  Nathaniel  Jenkins  said  :  "  I  believe  the  doctrines  in  question 
as  firmly  as  the  promoters  of  that  ill-designed  bill,  but  I  will  never  consent  to 
oppose  the  opposers  with  law  or  any  other  weapon  save  that  of  argument." 
He  believed  in  the  truth,  and  he  believed  that  the  Truth  of  God  could  stand 
without  the  addition  of  pains  and  penalties  from  the  civil  power.  The  jail 
and  the  whipping-post  add  nothing  to  the  truth  of  a  teaching.  The  bill  failed 
to  become  a  law.  Nathaniel  Jenkins  registered  the  mind  of  every  Baptist  in 
the  land  when  he  voted  nay  upon  that  bill.  In  Rhode  Island  there  was  religi- 
ous freedom  ;  in  this  State  a  large-hearted  toleration  prevailed.  Accordingly, 
we  find  Thomas  Killingworth,  at  a  court  held  at  Salem,  December  24th,  1706, 
taking  out  a  license  under  the  Toleration  Act  for  a  preaching  place  at  Penns 
Neck.    The  Baptists  in  this  Colony  were  breathing  a  free  air  and  growing 


31 

The  brethren  in  some  of  the  other  Colonies  were  sorely  afflicted.  In  1770  the 
Baptists  at  Ashfleld,  near  Boston,  refused  to  pay  the  taxes  levied  upon  them  to 
build  the  new  Puritan  meeting-house.  Thereupon  their  orchards,  meadows, 
cornfields  and  grave-yard  were  sold.  In  the  records  of  the  Cape  May  Church, 
December  31st,  1774,  a  contribution  was  considered  for  "  our  persecuted  breth- 
ren at  Ashfleld,  in  Boston  government."  At  the  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia 
Association,  October  11th,  1775,  the  Cohansey  Church  reported  two  pounds  "  For 
our  suffering  brethren  in  New  England."  The  whole  world  to-day  stands 
debtor  to  these  men  who  counted  their  principles  of  more  worth  than  their 
property.  We  give  praise  to  the  Churches  in  our  State  that  stood  by  them  and 
helped  them. 

WHAT  THE   CHURCHES   STOOD   FOR. 

Those  thirty-three  men  of  Middletown,  Piscataway  and  Cohansey  Churches, 
what  truths  did  they  represent?  They  stood  for  this — the  supremacy  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  Church,  or,  as  the  fathers  expressed  it,  the  Kingship  of  Jesus ;  and 
therefore  these  men  of  two  centuries  ago  went  to  the  New  Testament  and  asked 
it  for  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ.  Tradition  and  custom  and  creed  and  centuries 
had  but  little  weight  with  them.  The  Word  of  Jesus  Christ  had  great  weight 
with  them.  This  truth  is  not  worn-out  to-day.  Jesus  Christ,  and  He  only,  is 
law  giver  in  Zion.  Customs  and  conveniences  and  majorities  can  never  change 
falsehoods  into  truths  or  convert  half  truths  into  whole  truths.  They  stood /or 
the  conscience  untouched  by  the  civil  power.  These  thirty-three  men  had  almost 
all  New  England  against  them,  some  of  the  Southern  Colonies,  the  customs  of 
centuries,  the  deliverances  of  councils  and  confessions  of  faith.  Reformers 
like  Martin  Luther  and  John  Knox,  saintly  men  like  Baxter,  thought  it  a  per- 
tinent doctrine.  Our  Baptist  fathers  stood  there  so  quietly,  planted  their  con- 
victions, and  the  whole  world  has  come  around  to  them.  And  to-day  the  truth 
has  so  won  its  way  into  the  world's  thinking  that  we  are  apt  to  underestimate 
the  sublimity  of  their  position. 

They  stood  for  the  Church,  its  purity,  its  regenerate  character.  They  were  the 
custodians,  the  trustees  of  this  teaching — the  Church  must  be  a  regenerate 
body.  They  were  dark  times  spiritually  in  our  land  when  these  three  Churches 
were  formed.  In  1657,  in  New  England,  the  half-way  covenant  was  adopted. 
Under  this  all  persons  who  had  been  baptized  were  regarded  as  Church  mem- 
bers, but  the  Lord's  Supper  was  withheld  from  them.  But  they  could  not  stop 
here.  If  infant  baptism  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Church,  why  not  also  to  the 
Lord's  Supper?  The  distinction  between  the  regenerate  and  unregenerate  was 
ignored.  Infant  baptism  took  the  place  of  personal  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Isaac  Backus  says :    "  New  England  was  involved  in  darkness  at  this  time  that 


32 

might  be  felt."  Gilbert  Tennant  wrote  that  "  the  body  of  the  Clergy  of  that 
generation  were  as  great  strangers  to  the  feeling  experience  of  the  new  birth 
as  was  their  predecessor  Nicodemus."  Fifty  years  after  these  Churches  were 
founded,  Jonathan  Edwards  was  driven  from  his  Northampton  pastorate  for 
insisting  that  none  but  the  regenerate  may  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  Min- 
istry and  members  were  against  him.  These  thirteen  Baptist  Churches,  in 
1690,  were  the  only  organized  bodies  in  this  continent  that,  with  a  clear  voice, 
said,  The  Church  of  Christ  is  alone  for  Christ's  saved  people.  What  large  truths 
were  in  their  keeping ;  and  how  w^ell  they  guarded  them  !  Not  alone  we,  but 
every  organized  evangelical  body  in  our  land  is  indebted  to  these  men  for  their 
steady  and  steadfast  adherence  to  the  truth  of  Christ.  Let  us  then  honor  the 
men  who,  two  hundred  years  ago,  laid  the  foundations  of  our  Churches.  For 
the  name  of  Baptist  they  cared  not  much  ;  for  the  principles  that  lay  back  of 
the  name  they  cared  everything.  They  were  not  fanatics  or  visionary  men. 
They  were  men  into  whose  minds  certain  large  truths  had  come. 

THE   FIRST  ASSOCIATION. 

There  was  a  longing  for  Church-fellowship — there  was  a  longing  for  the  en- 
largement of  the  Saviour's  Kingdom.  There  was  a  demand  and  then  there 
was  a  discovery.  The  Philadelphia  Association  was  formed  in  1707.  This  was 
the  first  organization  of  the  kind  in  America.  It  was  composed  of  five  Churches 
— Pennepek,  Piscataway,  Middletown,  Cohansey,  Welsh  Tract,  Del.  Dr.  Samuel 
Jones,  says : 

"This  Association  originated  in  what  they  called  general,  and  sometimes 
yearly,  meetings.  These  meetings  were  instituted  so  early  as  IGSS,  and  met 
alternatively  in  May  and  September,  at  Lower  Dublin,  Philadelphia,  Salem, 
Cohansey,  Chester  and  Burlington,  at  which  places  there  were  members, 
though  no  Church  or  Churches  constituted,  except  Lower  Dublin  and  Cohan- 
sey. At  these  meetings  their  labor  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word  and  the  administration  of  Gospel  ordinances.  But  in  the  year  1707  they 
seem  to  have  taken  more  properly  the  form  of  an  Association  ;  for  then  they 
had  delegates  from  several  Churches,  and  attended  to  their  general  concerns. 
We  therefore  date  our  beginning  as  an  Association  from  that  time,  though  we 
might  with  little  impropriety  extend  it  back  some  years." 

The  formation  of  the  Association  gave  a  wonderful  impetus  to  the  spread  of 
Baptist  principles.  The  Churches  had  enlarging  ideas,  the  strong  helped  the 
weak,  a  missionary  spirit  was  developed.  In  our  State,  Churches  sprung  up  in 
the  following  order,  in  the  first  century  of  our  Church  life: 


33 

Hopewell 1715  Pemberton 1764 

Kingwood 1742  Upper  Freehold .1766 

Hightstown 1745  Mount  Bethel 1767 

Scotch  Plains 1747  Lyons'  Farms 1769 

Morristown 1752  Manahawkin 1770 

Eoxbury 1753  Pittsgrove 1771 

Salem,  (first) 1755  Tuekahoe 1771 

Wantage,  (first) 1756  Jacobstown 1785 

Dividing  Creek 1761  Northfield 1786 

Knowlton 1763  Mansfield 1786 

At  the  end  of  one  century  we  have  twenty-four  Baptist  Churches.  In  1761, 
the  first  year  in  which  the  statistics  of  the  Churches  are  printed  in  the  Min- 
utes, the  membership  did  not  exceed  741,  an  average  of  fifty-seven  in  each 
Church.  Of  these  first-century  Churches,  two,  Hopewell  first,  and  Kingwood, 
have  lapsed  into  a  smaller  and  less  complete  faith.  Four  have  since  dis- 
banded— Roxbury,  Knowlton,  Tuekahoe,  Mansfield.  Eighteen  Churches  are 
shining  to-day  whose  lights  were  kindled  from  1688  to  1788. 

THE    FIRST    CENTENNIAL. 

We  insert  here  a  table  containing  the  names  of  the  Pastors  and  members 
who,  as  Delegates,  attended  the  Association,  October  7th,  1788,  with  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Church  at  that  time  : 

Name  of  Church.  Delegates.  Memhership. 

Middletown Samuel  Morgan,  Pastor 131 

William  Blair. 
Piscataway Reune  Runyon,  Pastor 145 

Jeremiah  Manning. 
Cohansey Robert  Kelsay,  Pastor 93 

Providence  Ludam, 

Jonathan  Bowen. 
Cape  May No  Pastor 63 

Amos  Cresse. 
Hopewell Oliver  Hart,  Pastor* 164 

David  Stout,  Jr., 

Jediah  Stout. 
Kingwood Nicholas  Cox,  Pastor 160 

Joshua  Opdyck, 
Jonathan  Wolverton. 

♦Absent. 


34 

Name  of  Church.  Delegates.  Membership. 

Hightstown Peter  Wilson,  Pastor 221 

William  Covenboven, 

Alexander  M'Gowan. 

Scotch  Plains William  Van  Horn,  Pastor 146 

Robert  Fitz  Kandolph. 

Morristown David  Loofborrow,  Pastor* 87 

John  Brookfield. 

Knowlton David  Finn,  Pastor* 42 

Salem Peter  P.  Van  Home,  Pastor 32 

John  Briggs, 

John  Walker. 

Wantage Silas  Southworth,  Pastor* 74 

Dividing  Creek John  Garrison,  Pastor 43 

New  Mills  (Pemberton) Samuel  Jones 95 

Upper  Freehold Edward  Taylor 45 

Mount  Bethel Abner  Sutton,  Pastor* Ill 

Lyons'  Farms Joseph  Stevens,  Pastor 15 

Manahawkin No  letter 31 

Pittsgrove William  Worth,  Pastor 82 

Hosea  Snethen. 

Tuckahoe.. Isaac  Bunnel,  Pastor* 03 

Jacobstown Burgess  Alison,  Pastor 47 

Ashur  Cox. 

Canoe  Brook  (Northfield) No  letter 35 

*Absent. 

The  Roxbury  Church,  with  47  members,  was  not  represented  tliat  year. 
The  Mansfield  Church  does  not  appear  in  the  list  of  Churches  belonging  to 
the  Philadelphia  Association.  The  number  of  members  in  1788  was  about 
1,900. 

A  SUMMARY. 

Morgan  Edwards  gives  the  following  summary  of  the  Baptist  cause  in  1790: 

Baptist  Churches  in  Jersey  who  keep  the  first  day 24 

Members 2,994 

Familiep,  about 1,897 

Souls  (allowing  five  to  a  family),  about 9,485 

Ministers  ordained 16 

Ministers,  licentiate 3 

Ministers,  probationary 3 

Meeting-houses 31 


35 

THE    MEN    OF   THE    FIRST   CENTURY. 

Who  were  the  men  that  led  the  Churches  in  the  first  hundred  years? 
Among  them  were  Rev.  Thomas  Killingworth,  the  first  Pastor  of  the  Cohansey 
Church,  serving  nineteen  years  until  his  death,  in  1709  ;  Rev.  Nathaniel  Jen- 
kins, Pastor  at  Cape  May  from  1712  to  17:>0;  Rev.  John  Drake,  the  first  Pastor 
at  Piscataway,  Pastor  for  fifty  years  until  his  death,  in  1739;  Rev.  Benjamin 
Stelle,  Rev.  Isaac  Stelle,  Rev.  Reune  Runyon,  Pastors  at  Piscataway,  whose 
pastorates  cover  eighty  years;  Rev.  Benjamin  Miller,  Pastor  at  Scotch  Plains 
for  thirty-four  years  until  his  death,  in  1781 ;  Rev.  Peter  Wilson,  for  thirty-five 
years  Pastor  at  Hightstown ;  Rev.  Isaac  Eatoti,  for  twenty-six  years  Pastor  at 
Hopewell  until  his  death,  in  1774;  Rev.  Oliver  Hart,  Pastor  at  Hopewell  for 
fifteen  years  until  his  death,  in  1795;  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  called  the  incompar- 
able, Pastor  at  Middletown  for  forty-eight  years.  Pastor  until  his  death,  in  1785. 
They  were  worthy  men  who  were  anchored  in  their  positions,  and  yet  they 
were  men  whose  labors  covered  a  large  territory  because  they  had  large  hearts. 
The  diary  of  Abel  Morgan  mentions  more  than  forty  places  where  he  preached 
and  administered  the  Lord's  Supper.  Peter  Wilson's  field  extended  from 
Manasquan  to  Trenton.  Rev.  David  Jones,  when  Pastor  at  Upper  Freehold, 
went  twice,  by  consent  of  his  Church,  to  visit  the  Indian  tribes  in  Ohio.  Rev. 
Benjamin  Miller,  of  Scotch  Plains,  went  to  North  Carolinia  to  visit  the  Armin- 
ian  Baptist  Churches,  "  for  the  special  purpose  of  instructing  and  reforming 
them.''  The  leading  Ministers  constituted  in  themselves  State  Conventions 
and  Home  Mission  Societies.  The  Association,  year  by  year,  provided  supplies 
for  vacant  fields.  All  the  Churches  contributed  their  Pastors  to  this  work. 
We  owe  a  vast  deal  (under  God)  to  the  character  of  these  early  founders  of 
Baptist  institutions.  None  of  the  early  men  were  college-trained  men,  but 
they  were  trained  men.  They  knew  God ;  they  knew  the  Bible ;  they  knew 
the  old  theology  of  Owen  and  Charnock  and  kindred  men.  They  were  men 
of  clear  mind  and  strong  convictions.  Abel  Morgan  could  read  Greek  and 
Hebrew.  Rev.  David  Jones  studied  theology  under  Abel  Morgan.  This  was 
the  Theological  Seminary  of  those  days.  Of  their  writings  we  have  two  vol- 
umes of  Abel  Morgan — the  Controversy  with  Rev.  Mr.  Finley  on  Baptism. 
Rev.  David  Jones  was  the  author  of  five  works.  Discourses  of  Rev.  Isaac 
Eaton  and  others  have  come  down  to  us.  They  were  mighty  in  the  Scriptures, 
they  were  leaders  of  men.  Benedict  says  :  "  In  going  over  their  histories  I 
have  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  fact  of  their  steady  and  uniform  course 
in  the  midst  of  their  privations,  and  of  the  convincing  proof  which  it  aflbrds 
of  the  intelligent  and  valuable  materials  of  which  they  were  composed. 
Probably  the  best  solution  of  this  singular  but  pleasing  fact  may  be  found  in 
the  extraction  of  most  of  the  first  settlers ;  they  were  generally  from  Wales' 


36 

and  brought  with  them  all  those  excellent  traits  of  character  which  are 
peculiar  to  the  Cambrian  people."  We  may  thank  God,  on  this  Bi-Centennial 
day,  for  the  good  blood  that  the  founders  gave  to  Church  life  in  the  State.  A. 
true  Creed  in  Church  building  is  worth  a  vast  deal,  but  a  true  Creed  embodied 
in  a  true  personal  character  is  worth  a  vast  deal  more.  Such  men  were  our 
spiritual  ancestors. 

WHAT  THEY  DID   IN   EDUCATION. 

The  first  Baptist  School  in  this  country  was  established  at  Hopewell,  N.  J., 
in  175f).  Isaac  Eaton,  the  Pastor,  was  the  principal.  In  the  Minutes  of  the 
Philadelphia  Association,  October  5th,  1756,  is  the  following:  "Concluded  to 
raise  a  sum  of  money  toward  the  encouragement  of  a  Latin  Grammar  School 
for  the  promotion  of  learning  among  us,  under  the  care  of  Brother  Isaac  Eaton 
and  the  inspection  of  our  Brethren  Abel  Morgan,  Isaac  Stelle,  Abel  Griffith  and 
Peter  P.  Van  Horn."  In  the  building  at  Hopewell,  part  of  which  yet  remains, 
was  the  beginning  of  all  our  educational  enterprises.  The  influence  of  that 
school  was  quiet,  but  immense.  Here  was  trained  James  Manning,  first  Presi- 
dent of  Rhode  Island  College;  here  was  trained  Dr.  Samuel  Jones,  for  fifty-one 
years  Pastor  at  Pennepek,  the  most  influential  Baptist  in  the  Middle  Colonies 
— himself  a  Theological  Seminary  for  training  Ministers;  here  was  trained  Dr. 
Hezekiah  Smith,  a  graduate  of  Princeton,  for  forty  years  Pastor  at  Haverhill, 
Mass.,  the  founder  of  thirteen  Churches.  Others  were,  David  Jones,  Dr.  Isaac 
Skillman,  Charles  Thompson,  John  Sutton,  David  Sutton.  That  academy  had 
a  wonderful  efi'ect  upon  the  Churches  in  giving  to  them  a  common  centre,  in 
supplying  Ministers,  in  awakening  intellectual  activity.  It  was  a  misfortune 
to  our  State,  a  calamity,  that  an  academy  was  not  maintained  in  the  State.  Its 
effects,  through  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  would  have  been  simply 
incalculable.  We  have  many  schools  to-day,  and  larger;  let  us  not  forget  to 
think  of  the  modest  academy  in  the  frame  building  at  Hopewell,  and  its  unas- 
suming but  noble  principal,  Isaac  Eaton. 

"  How  far  that  little  candle  throws  its  light."  From  1778  to  1796  Dr.  Burgess 
Allison  had  a  school  in  Bordentown,  of  large  influence.  Here  Rev.  Peter 
Wilson,  Dr.  Horatio  Gates  Jones  and  many  others  were  trained.  To  us  the 
educational  work  of  that  day  seems  small.  The  Association,  in  1769,  has  these 
words :  "  Received  pleasing  accounts  from  Rhode  Island  College — seven  entered 
this  fall."  That  was  the  contribution  of  the  Baptist  people  in  one  year  of 
young  men  to  be  trained.  The  great  things  of  this  day  have  come  from  the 
small  things  of  that  day. 


37 

DOCTRINAL   POSITION. 

The  Churches  were  orthodox,  Calvinistic.  The  doctrinal  position  of  the  early 
Churches  might  be  represented  by  John  Gill ;  our  doctrinal  position  by  Andrew 
Fuller.  They  adopted  Confessions  of  Faith.  The  Council  called  to  heal  the 
division  in  the  Middletown  Church  in  1712,  advised  the  Church  to  subscribe 
to  Elias  Reach's  Pastor's  Confession  of  Faith  and  Church  Covenant  thereto 
annexed.  The  deed  of  the  Bordentown  Church  conveys  the  property  to  those 
"  who  are  members  of  Christian  congregations,  baptized  by  immersion,  upon 
profession  of  faith,  and  holding  those  wholesome  principles  contained  in  a 
Confession  of  Faith,  set  forth  by  the  Ministers  and  Elders  of  above  one  hundred 
congregations  in  England  and  Wales,  1689."  The  Churches  rested  upon  the 
same  doctrinal  basis  with  ourselves.  The  Philadelphia  Confession  of  Faith> 
September  15th,  1742,  is  simply  this  old  Confession  with  articles  added  on  the 
singing  of  Psalms  and  the  laying  on  of  hands.  The  Churches  had  no  limp 
theology,  no  new  theology.  Every  word  of  their  confessions,  sermons,  circular 
letters  we  might  to-day  make  our  own.  Two  hundred  years  have  given  us  no 
new  doctrines. 

In  1781,  upon  the  report  of  a  Committee,  of  which  Oliver  Hart,  Abel  Morgan 
and  James  Manning  were  members,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  Unanimously,  not  to  admit  any  one  who  advocates  universal  salva- 
tion to  the  office  of  public  teacher,  or  suffer  any  who  avow  the  same  to  continue 
in  the  Communion." 

They  held  to  a  Congregational  Church  polity.  The  Association  refused  to 
ordain  to  the  Ministry.  It  said  that  belongs  to  the  Church.  They  had  Councils 
to  settle  disputes  and  give  advice.  One  feature  of  the  old  Church  polity  has 
disappeared.  The  Ruling  Eldership,  a  Spiritual  office,  distinct  from  the  Dea- 
conship,  held  by  all  the  Churches  at  first,  dropped  out  about  1800.  One  Church 
in  the  middle  of  the  second  century  introduced  a  plurality  in  the  eldership. 
But  the  presence,  in  large  quantities,  of  unsanctified  human  nature,  compelled 
the  Church  to  restore  the  single  pastorate.  A  high  standard  of  Church  fidelity 
was  expected.    The  Hightstown  records,  October  2d,  178-1,  have  this — 

"And  these  male  members  that  omit  attendance  upon  the  appointed  days 
shall  render  an  account  for  their  not  attending,  at  the  next  meeting." 

The  Flemington  Church,  October  3d,  1801,  resolved  that  any  members  absent- 
ing themselves  three  successive  times  from  Church  meeting  should  be  called 
upon  to  give  a  reason  for  thus  doing.  A  high  standard  of  Christian  living  was 
called  for.     In  the  Scotch  Plains  Church,  1748,  it  was 

Resolved,  "  That  any  brother  belonging  to  this  Church  and  not  praying  in  his 
family,  shall  be  admonished  ;  and  if  he  will  reclaim,  well ;  and  if  otherwise, 
he  shall  be  suspended." 


38 

Pastors  and  members  sometimes  departed  from  Scripture  teaching.  In  1788, 
the  Cape  May  Church  sent  to  the  Association  this  query—"  Whether  a  member 
who  professes  that  Christ  died  for  all  mankind,  and  that  every  individual  of 
the  human  race  will  finally  be  saved,  ought  to  be  excommunicated."  The 
answer  was— "Agreed  that  every  such  person,  upon  conviction,  and  after  proper 
steps  have  been  taken,  ought  to  be  excluded."  Thereupon  the  Cape  May  Church 
excluded  its  Pastor.  The  early  Churches  watched  carefully  the  beliefs  of  Pas- 
tors and  members.  The  records  show  with  what  solemnity  the  act  of  excom- 
munication was  regarded.  Prayer  preceded  it,  and  prayer  followed  it.  They 
held  rigid  views  concerning  baptism.  In  1788,  the  Association— of  which  all 
the  New  Jersey  Churches  were  members — in  answer  to  the  query  respecting 
the  validity  of  baptism  administered  by  a  person  who  had  never  been  baptized 
himself,  not  yet  ordained,  made  reply,  "That  we  deem  such  baptism  null  and 
void."  Cooperation  among  Churches  of  differing  faiths  did  not  prevail  in  these 
olden  days  to  any  great  extent.  Benedict  says:  "At  that  time  the  exchange  of 
pulpits  between  the  advocates  and  the  opponents  of  infant  baptism  was  a  thing 
of  very  rare  occurrence  except  in  a  few  of  the  more  distinguished  Churches  in 
the  Northern  States.  Indeed,  the  doctrine  of  non-intercourse,  so  far  as  minis- 
terial services  were  concerned,  almost  universally  prevailed  between  Baptists 
and  Pedo-baptists."  In  1734,  the  Middletown  Church  sent  to  the  Association 
three  queries — 

"  1.  Whether  we  may  accept  and  take  in  a  Minister  of  a  different  persuasion 
at  our  appointed  meetings  ?  Answered  in  the  negative ;  unless  the  Church  see 
cause,  upon  some  particular  occasions." 

"  2.  Whether  it  may  not  be  more  convenient  for  us  to  keep  up  our  meetings, 
as  usual,  by  reading  the  Scriptures,  singing  of  Psalms,  and  prayer,  than  to 
admit  men  of  different  persuasions?    Answered  in  the  affirmative." 

"  3.  Whether  it  be  justifiable  for  our  members  to  neglect  our  own  appointed 
meetings,  and  at  their  pleasure  go  to  hear  those  differing  in  judgment  from  us? 
Answered  in  the  negative.    Heb.  x,  25." 

Simple  in  their  Church  polity,  clear  and  scriptural  in  their  doctrinal  views, 
forcible  in  their  utterance,  earnest  in  piety,  abundant  in  labors,  they  were 
spiritual  ancestors  of  whom  we  need  not  be  ashamed.  Our  spiritual  fathers 
were  men  of  deep  piety.  In  1795  the  Cohansey  Church  sent  to  the  Association 
this  query  :  "  Is  it  not  pro  er,  from  the  consideration  of  abounding  error, 
infidelity,  lukewarmness,  and  decay  of  vital  piety  in  the  world  and  in  the  pro- 
fessors of  religion,  that  a  day  of  humiliation,  fasting  and  prayer  should  be 
observed  in  our  Churches?  "     Thereupon  such  a  day  was  appointed. 


39 

BURIED   QUESTIONS. 

Some  questions  vexed  them  which  do  not  trouble  us.  The  question  of  lay- 
ing on  of  hands  was  a  disturbing  and  dividing  question.  The  Philadelphia 
Confession  of  Faith  has  these  strong  words :  "  We  believe  that  laying  on  of 
hands,  with  prayer,  upon  baptized  believers,  as  such  is  an  ordinance  of  Christ, 
and  ought  to  be  submitted  unto  by  all  such  persons  that  are  admitted  to  par- 
take of  the  Lord's  Supper."  In  1790  a  member  joined  the  Middletown  Church 
from  the  Upper  Freehold  Church  because  it  did  not  practice  laying  on  of  hands. 
In  1809  the  Cape  May  Church  laid  aside  the  practice.  It  continued  at  Piscata- 
way  to  some  extent,  until  1825.    No  Churches  now  observe  it. 

The  question  of  marriage  with  a  deceased  wife's  sister  was  a  source  of  dis- 
turbance (in  the  second  century)  to  one  Church  and  an  Association.  The 
question  has  been  laid  away  to  rest. 

The  question  of  singing  in  worship  was  a  subject  of  discord.  It  was  only  at 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  singing  was  introduced  among  English 
Baptists.  In  1691  Rev.  Benjamin  Keach  wrote  a  book  called  "  The  Breach 
Kepaired ;  or,  Singing  of  Psalms  and  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  Proved  to  be 
a  Holy  Ordinance  of  Jesus  Christ."  When  the  Second  Church,  in  Newport,  R. 
I.,  was  formed,  in  1656,  among  the  reasons  given  by  the  twenty-one  persons 
who  founded  it,  for  leaving  the  First  Church,  was  that  they  disapproved  of 
Psalmody  which  the  parent  community  used.  In  1710  a  Church  that  had 
maintained  a  separate  existence  for  twenty-three  years,  by  reason  of  differences 
of  opinion  concerning  Psalm-singing,  laying  on  of  hands,  and  the  like,  was 
merged  into  the  Cohansey  Church. 

Morgan  Edwards,  writing  of  Kingwood  Church,  says:  "During  the  minis- 
tration of  Rev.  David  Sutton,  from  1764  to  1783,  there  was  a  considerable  stir 
in  the  Church  relative  to  the  rite  of  washing  feet,  but  it  could  not  be  estab-' 
lished  in  a  general  way ;  neither  will  it  prevail  until  Christians  be  converted 
and  become  as  little  children,  who  do  as  the  father  bids  them  without  remon- 
strating." It  is  probable  that  the  Kingwood  Church  was  leavened  somewhat 
by  contact  with  a  Tunker  Baptist  Church  established  at  Amwell,  Hunterdon 
county,  in  1738.  This  Tunker  Church  has  now  grown  to  three  Churches,  with 
a  membership  of  250. 

In  1777  Abel  Morgan  was  appointed  by  the  Association  to  write  an  answer 
to  the  queries  of  this  Church  concerning  the  washing  of  feet.  He  says :  "  The 
Association  are  not  so  happy  as  to  be  universally  agreed  themselves."  Abel 
Morgan,  of  the  Middletown  Church,  practiced  anointing  the  sick  with  oil. 
Morgan  Edwards  says:  "I  wish  all  Baptist  Ministers  were  of  Mr.  Morgan's 
mind." 


40 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  century  the  Churches  used  Rippon's  collection  of 
hymns.  In  the  second  century,  when  the  baptistery  and  organ  were  intro- 
duced, a  few  of  the  older  members  protested.  Some  would  remain  outside 
until  the  "wooden  music  "  had  ceased,  and  leave  straightway  after  the  sermon, 
as  a  testimony  against  instrumental  music.  For  the  most  part,  changes  in 
mere  circumstantials  that  do  not  affect  principle  have  been  acquiesced  in.  We 
have  to-day  no  disturbing  questions. 

THE   GREAT   STRUGGLE. 

During  the  first  century  of  our  Church  life  came  the  struggle  for  the  Na- 
tional life.  What  the  Baptists,  as  a  whole,  were  and  did  we  know  from  the 
words  of  Washington :  "  I  recollect,  with  satisfaction,  that  the  religious  society 
of  which  you  are  members  has  been  throughout  America,  uniformly  and 
almost  unanimously,  the  firm  friends  of  civil  liberty  and  the  persevering  pro- 
moters of  our  glorious  revolution."  We  know  the  names  of  a  few  men,  at 
least,  who  were  leaders  in  forming  the  spirit  of  resistance  and  shaping  the  in- 
fluences that  gave  birth  to  the  nation.  Rev.  David  Jones  was  Pastor  at  Upper 
Freehold  until  1775,  when  his  outspoken  views  in  favor  of  the  rights  of  the 
colonists  made  him  unpopular.  He  was  chaplain  in  the  army,  at  Valley  Forge, 
under  Wayne,  until  the  surrender  at  Yorktown.  He  had  the  confidence  of 
Washington.  Hezekiah  Smith,  a  graduate  of  Hopewell  and  Princeton,  was 
chaplain  in  the  Continental  Army,  serving  with  Washington  and  having  his 
friendship.  Rev.  John  Gano,  a  student  of  Hopewell,  Pastor  at  Morristown, 
the  most  eloquent  man  of  that  day,  in  our  ministry,  is  finely  portrayed  in 
Headley's  "Chaplains  and  Clergy  of  the  Revolution."  Washington  said: 
"  The  Baptist  chaplains  were  the  most  prominent  and  useful  in  the  army." 
Rev.  William  Van  Home,  who  settled  in  Scotch  Plains  in  1785,  had  previously 
been  in  the  army.  A  New  Jersey  Baptist  Church  gave  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  its  only  Baptist  signer.  John  Hart,  of  Hopewell,  was  our  rep- 
resentative on  that  undying  parchment.  Of  him  Governor  Parker  said  :  "  He 
was  a  consistent  member  of  the  old  Hopewell  Baptist  Church.  I  am  of  opinion 
that  John  Hart  had  greater  experience  in  the  Colonial  and  State  legislation  of 
that  day  than  any  of  his  co temporaries,  and  that  no  man  exercised  greater  in- 
fluence in  giving  direction  to  the  public  opinion  which  culminated  in  inde- 
pendence." The  doors  of  the  Flemington  meeting-house  were  closed  against 
a  Minister  because  he  was  supposed  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  British.  The 
diary  and  sermons  of  Abel  Morgan  show  how  the  heart  of  himself  and  people 
were  in  unison  with  the  drum-beat  of  the  army.  October  18th,  177(5,  the  dele- 
gates from  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  Churches,  meeting  at  Scotch  Plains  with 
the  Philadelphia  Association,  passed  the  followieg  resolution  : 


41 

"The  Association,  taking;  into  consideration  the  awful  impending  calamities 
of  these  times,  and  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  our  duty  to  humble  our- 
selves before  God,  by  acknowledging  our  manifold  sins  and  imploring  His  par- 
don and  interposition  in  favor  of  our  distressed  country,  and  also  to  beseech 
Him  to  grant  that  such  blessings  may  accompany  the  means  of  His  grace  that  a 
revival  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion  may  universally  prevail ; 

"  Resolved,  That  it  be  and  is  hereby  recommended  to  our  Churches  to  observe 
four  days  of  humiliation  in  the  year  ensuing." 

Col.  Asher  Moore,  of  the  Middletown  Church,  John  Holme,  Esq.,  and  Col. 
John  Holme,  of  the  Salem  Church,  were  men  of  note  in  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. In  Sabine's  "History  of  American  Loyalists,"  containing  3,200  biogra- 
phies of  men  w'ho  turned  their  backs  upon  our  cause,  only  one  was  a  Baptist. 

On  a  Sunday  at  Hopewell  in  April,  1775,  Col.  Joab  Houghton  said  to  the 
men  as  they  came  out  of  the  meeting-house,  "  Men  of  New  Jersey,  the  red- 
coats are  murdering  our  brethren  in  New  England.  Who  will  follow  me  to 
Boston?"  It  is  said,  "  There  was  not  a  traitor  or  a  coward  in  the  Hopewell 
meeting-house  that  day,  as  every  man  stepped  into  line."  Houghton  fought 
until  the  end  of  the  war. 

When  the  Massachusetts  Convention  met  to  ratify  the  Federal  Constitution 
it  was  violently  opposed  by  the  standing  order,  because  it  imposed  no  religious 
tests  upon  the  officers  of  the  government.  The  Baptist  members  of  the 
Assembly  succeeded  in  saving  it  by  a  majority  of  only  19  in  a  body  of  nearly 
400  members.  We  may  not  forget  that  it  was  a  man  Jersey  born  and  Jersey 
trained  who  largely  contributed  to  that  result.  The  man  was  James  Manning. 
Our  Baptist  ancestors  were  true  to  Christ  and  to  the  country. 

"  Whatever  record  leaps  to  life 
They  never  will  be  shamed." 

THE  SECOND   CENTURY. 

The  Churches  were  much  weakened  in  members  and  spiritual  power  during 
the  Revolution.  Some  of  the  Churches  during  this  period  became  very  much 
weakened.  But  even  in  dark  times  God  did  not  desert  them,  for  in  1776 
Hopewell  received  101  by  baptism.  With  the  dawn  of  the  new  century,  with 
the  coming  of  peace  and  order  and  a  government,  new  life  came  into  the 
Churches. 

We  insert  here  a  table  showing  the  relative  increase  of  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation in  New  Jersey,  with  that  of  the  population,  between  1790  and  1888  : 


42 


GROWTH  OF  THE  DENOMINATION. 

EACH  PERIOD 
A  DECADE. 

u 

3 

o 

B 

a. 

P3 

1 

o    . 

•SS 

•3   u 

0  ■" 

PL, 

c 

c 
0 

>  0  rt 

Wo 

1^ 

1790 
1800 
1810 
1820 
1830 
1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1880 
1888 

21 

26 

37 

47 

55 

73 

97 

120 

152 

175 

195 

1,367 
903 
1,931 
1,725 
1,463 
6,412 
8,195 
9,141 

2,002 
2,068 
2,221 
3,710 
3,967 
9,113 
12,531 
17.121 

184,139 
211,949 
245,555 
277,378 
320,823 
373,306 
481,555 
672,135 
730,000 
1,000,000 

"          2d 

27,810 

33,806 

32,020 

43,249 

52,489 

116,249 

182,480 

107,905 

270,000 

66 
1,153 
439 
257 
5,156 
3,408 
4,590 
7,379 
7,756 
4,200 

5 

"          3d     

11 

"         4th 

10 

«        5th 

8 

"         6th 

18 

«        7th 

24 

"        8th 

23 

"        9th 

12,190  '24,500 
15,596  ,32,256 
13  122  .<^fi4.'ifi 

32 

"      10th 

23 

"      llth(8y'rs). 

20 

' 

In  the  first  century  were  formed  twenty-four  Churches.  Four  of  these  dis- 
banded, two  abandoned  the  New  Testament  faith,  leaving  eighteen  Churches 
as  the  result  of  the  first  century's  work.  In  the  second  century  two  hundred 
and  twenty -six  Churches  were  formed ;  of  these  forty-five  have  disbanded, 
three  have  gone  from  us,  leaving  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  Churches  as 
the  result  of  the  second  century's  work.  We  hope  that  all  of  these  may  live 
on  until  in  the  third  century  of  Baptist  work  in  the  State.  In  1701,  the  first 
year  in  which  the  statistics  were  reported,  we  have  thirteen  Churches,  with  a 
membership  of  741.  In  the  Minutes  of  1879  is  given  a  list  of  all  the  Churches 
formed  in  the  State  from  the  beginning  up  to  that  time.  In  the  following 
table  is  a  list  of  the  Churches  formed  since  1879  up  to  the  present  time,  with 
the  date  of  the  organization— twenty-five  in  number: 


Elizabeth— Shiloh  1879 

Camden — Tabernacle 1880 

Rio  Grande 1880 

Atlantic  City 1880 

Florence 1880 

Elizabeth— East 1880 

Trenton— Berean 1880 

Port  Norris 1881 

Bayonne 1882 


Washington 1883 

Key  East 1883 

Orange — Washington  Street 1884 

Shiloh  1884 

Cramer  Hill 1884 

Greenwood 1885 

Canisteer 1885 

Bright  Hope,  Princeton 1885 

Salem— Mt.  Zion 1885 


43 

Riverton  and  Palmyra 1886  Montclair— Union 1886 

Camden— Linden 1886  Atlantic  City— Second 1886 

Long  Branch 1886  Bridgeton— Third 1887 

Montclair 1886 

In  the  early  part  of  this  century  the  Churches  began  to  have  larger  thoughts. 
As  their  thoughts  and  desires  grew  larger  they  began  to  devise  new  methods 
of  working.  The  Foreign  Mission  idea,  the  Home  Mission  idea,  the  Bible 
Society  idea,  the  Tract  Society  idea,  the  Sunday-school  idea,  the  Education 
Society  idea,  all  these  began  to  get  hold  of  the  Churches  more  and  more,  and 
began  also  to  shape  for  themselves  methods  of  working.  These  thoughts 
began  to  spring  up  everywhere.  Before  Judson  finished  his  course  at  Andover, 
the  Trenton  Church,  October  13th,  1810,  passed  this  resolution:  "Resolved, 
That  a  quarterly  meeting  be  held  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  beginning  the 
first  Monday  in  January,  1811."  The  Salem  Church  mentions  a  Church  Sun- 
day-school in  1819,  though  there  had  been  a  Union  School  before  this.  They 
began  everywhere  to  be  organized  about  this  time.  But  let  us  not  think  that 
Robert  Raikes  first  discovered  the  plan  of  caring  for  and  training  the  young. 
The  record-book  of  the  Hightstown  Church,  December,  1751,  has  these  words  : 
"  Concluded,  that  all  Church  members  and  others  that  find  freedom  to  comply 
herewith,  do  endeavor  to  instruct  their  children  in  their  Catechism  in  order  to 
be  catechized  in  the  Church  every  second  Sabbath  in  the  month."  The  Home 
Mission  Society  took  root  among  us,  for  our  Churches  from  the  very  begin- 
ning had  been  caring  for  the  neglected  fields  and  for  the  Indians. 

In  1778,  while  the  Colonies  were  struggling  for  a  national  life,  the  Associa- 
tion took  steps  to  form  a  fund  "  for  the  particular  and  express  purpose  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  destitute  places,  among  the  back  settlements."  The 
Churches  were  intent  upon  building  up,  also,  a  spiritual  Commonwealth. 

Women's  societies  find  homes  in  our  Churches,  for  home  work  and  for  mis- 
sion work.  They  are  the  daughters  of  those  women  who,  over  one  hundred 
years  ago,  organized  Mite  Societies,  and  over  fifty  years  ago  organized  Women's 
Prayer  Meetings  in  our  Churches.  To-day  every  Church  has  a  Sunday-school. 
Almost  all  have  organizations  for  Home  and  Foreign  Mission  work.  Mission 
Bands,  societies  for  developing  the  younger  members.  We  must  grow  upward 
toward  Christ  in  holiness,  outward  toward  men  in  numbers,  inward  among 
ourselves  in  efliciency,  in  quality. 

DOCTRINAL   DEFECTION. 

The  growth  of  the  Mission  spirit  awakened  in  some  Churches  a  decided 
opposition.    In  1835  the  Delaware  River  Association  was  formed  as  the  repre- 


44 

sentative  of  the  Anti-Mission  or  Old  School  Baptist  Churches.  Five  Churches 
that  had  worked  with  us  for  years  now  left  us — Hopewell  First,  King  wood, 
Hopewell  Second,  Washington  S.  R.,  Hardiston.  Two  of  these,  Hopewell  First 
and  Kingwood,  had  been  for  a  century  active  in  Missionary  Work.  Hardiston 
has  since  died.    The  statistics  of  these  Churches  are  as  follows  : 

First  Hopewell 206 

Second  Hopewell 20 

Washington,  S.  R 10 

Kingwood Gl 

It  is  only  a  question  of  time  how  soon  Churches  of  this  kind  must  die.  If 
they  will  not  work  with  Christ,  Christ  will  work  without  them.  It  is  predes- 
tined of  God  that  a  Church  that  will  not  work  must  wither.  If  a  Church  will 
not  give  and  grow,  it  will  shrivel  and  become  a  corpse.  The  departure  of 
these  Churches  has  been  the  only  time  in  the  history  of  two  centuries  when 
the  plow-share  of  separation  has  come  between  our  Churches.  The  Churches 
have  been  a  unit  in  affection  and  in  doctrine. 

We  cannot  realize,  to-day,  how  widespread  and  how  pervasive  the  anti-mis- 
sion influence  was  fifty  years  ago.  Some  of  our  strongest  Churches  narrowly 
escaped  from  its  controlling  influence.  But  men  of  God  like  Z.  Crenelle,  D. 
Dodge,  Roberts,  Webb,  Smalley,  Allison,  fought  it  and,  by  God's  grace,  killed  it. 
Four  closed  Baptist  meeting-houses,  at  Jacksonville,  Kingwood,  Canton  and 
Hopewell,  show  what  a  graveyard  of  Churches  our  State  would  have  been  if 
this  narrow  spirit  had  prevailed. 

OTHER   FORMS   OF   BAPTIST   FAITH, 

A  feeling  in  favor  of  keeping  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath  was  quite  wide- 
spread at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1705  seventeen  "mem- 
bers went  out  from  the  Piscataway  Church,  and  founded  the  Sabbatarian 
Church  at  Piscataway.  There  are  now  four  Churches  of  this  faith  in  the  State, 
with  a  membership  of  690.  A  sect  of  Baptists,  called  by  Morgan  Edwards  the 
Rogerene  Baptists,  came  into  the  northern  part  of  this  State  from  Connecticut. 
Having  maintained  an  existence  for  over  one  hundred  years,  they  passed  out 
of  sight  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  were  Sabbatarian  in 
belief.  They  were  filled  with  a  narrow  protestantism  that  led  them  to  protest 
against  what  they  thought  to  be  unscriptural  by  disturbing  the  public  worship 
of  religious  bodies.    They  lived  troublously;  they  died  quietly. 


45 

THE  STATE  CONVENTION. 

A  large  factor  in  keeping  the  Churches  of  the  State  in  fraternal  fellowship, 
in  maintaining  orthodoxy  in  teaching,  in  founding  Churches,  in  changing 
weakness  into  strength,  has  been  the  State  Convention.  An  organization 
existed  in  this  State  as  early  as  1811,  known  as  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  Mission 
Society.  But  something  more  efficient  was  needed,  Tuesday,  July  27th, 
1830,  at  Hamilton  Square,  the  representatives  of  ten  Churches  founded  the 
State  Convention.    These  Churches  and  delegates  were  as  follows : 

Hightstown John  Segur  and  Thomas  Allen. 

Upper  Freehold J.  M.  Challiss  and Lacoste. 

Flemington C.  Bartolette  and  T.  Barrass. 

New  Brunswick G.  S.  Webb  and  P.  P.  Runyon. 

Sandy  Ridge J.  Lake  and  S.  Hunt. 

Trenton M.  J.  Rhees,  G.  Mott,  D.  Brister. 

Nottingham  Square W.  Appleton  and West. 

Salem C.J.  Hopkins. 

Kingwood David  Bateman. 

Lambertville David  B.  Stout. 

Let  us  not  forget  their  names.  They  were  men  who  had  understanding  of 
the  times.  They  were  men  whose  thoughts  had  a  large  horizon.  At  that  time 
there  were  only  fifty  Baptist  Churches  in  the  State,  with  a  membership  of 
three  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty.  Of  these  fifty  there  were  but  two 
Churches  whose  membership  exceeded  two  hundred  each,  and  ten  whose 
membership  was  a  fraction  over  one  hundred  each,  while  the  remaining  thirty- 
eight  ranged  from  thirteen  to  ninety-eight  members.  Twenty-four  of  these 
were  found  to  have  a  mere  nominal  existence,  and  must  soon  have  inevitably 
lost  their  visibility  had  not  this  society  taken  them  under  its  fostering  care. 
Indeed,  several  of  them  were  already  so  near  extinction  that  every  effort  to 
save  them  proved  abortive. 

These  founders  of  the  State  Convention  were  building  wiser  than  they  knew. 
At  the  present  time  we  have — 

58  Churches  having  over  100  members  each. 


28 

'     " 

200 

15 

'     " 

300 

8 

" 

400 

8 
4 

<     « 

500 
700 

46 

If,  by  some  chemistry,  it  were  possible  to  take  from  our  State  the  work  and 
influence  of  the  State  Convention  in  creating  and  helping  Churches,  what  a 
fearful  calamity  would  come  upon  us.  It  would  unwrite  the  history  and 
unmake  the  progress  of  the  last  fifty  years.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  Churches  now  in  the  State,  about  one  hundred  have  been  helped  by  the 
Convention.  The  money  paid  into  the  treasury  to  1888  has  been  ?153,013.94, 
an  average  of  $2,638.19  per  year.  At  the  beginning  of  this,  the  third  century 
of  Baptist  work  in  this  State,  with  the  pillar  of  cloud  leading  to  promised 
lands  untrodden  as  yet  by  ourselves,  it  becomes  us  to  dedicate  ourselves  anew 
to  this  work  of  State  evangelization.  We  cannot  hallow  our  Baptist  fathers— 
the  work  they  did,  the  truths  they  stood  for— but  we  can  dedicate  ourselves 
afresh  to  this  consecrated  work,  and  we  may  thus  hallow  the  future.  The  best 
monument  we  can  build,  on  this  day,  is  to  build  up  the  State  Convention.  Of 
the  Churches  in  the  State,  48  were  formed  before  1830 ;  147  have  been  formed 
since  1830,  when  the  Convention  was  organized.  This  marked  increase  is 
largely  due  to  the  work  of  the  Convention. 

THE  EDUCATION  SOCIETY. 

In  connection  with  the  building  up  of  Churches,  attention  has  also  been 
given  to  the  building  up  of  men  for  the  ministry.  As  early  as  1769  the  Asso- 
ciation expressed  the  following:  "Our  number  of  Ministers  decreasing,  and 
calls  for  them  increasing,  it  is  earnestly  requested  that  our  Churches  will  look 
among  themselves  for  men  of  public  gifts,  and  send  them  forth  to  preach  the 
Gospel."  Our  fathers  did  not  worship  learning,  neither  did  they  despise  it. 
February  12th,  1838,  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  Education  Society  was  formed. 
It  has  assisted  over  two  hundred  men  in  their  studies  for  the  ministry.  It 
has  received  into  its  treasury  nearly  $75,000.  The  North  Orange  Church  has 
expended  for  the  same  purpose  about  the  same  amount  of  money.  The  Edu- 
cation Society  is  an  organized  agency  for  transmuting  money  into  manhood. 

OUR   SCHOOLS. 

Along  with  the  building  up  of  Churches  and  Ministers  has  been  the  building 
up  of  Schools.  Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  Academy  at  Hopewell.  Acade- 
mies were  founded  at  Plainfleld,  1834-1844,  and  planned  at  Salem  in  1826  and 
1852.  They  ended  in  failure.  In  1830  the  "  Rittenhouse  Manual  Labor  School  " 
was  founded  at  Sandy  Ridge.  It  did  good  work  while  it  lived.  The  School  at 
Burlington,  conducted  by  Samuel  Aaron  and  H.  K.  Green,  trained  a  number 
of  men  for  the  ministry.    We  have,  to-day,  two  noble  Schools,  that  would  have 


47 

gladdened  the  heart  of  Isaac  Eaton — Peddie  Institute,  at  Hightstown,  opened 
1869;  South  Jersey  Institute,  at  Bridgetoa,  opened  in  1870.  They  need,  each 
of  them,  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  endowment.  Give  them  this,  and 
they  will  water  and  make  green  the  next  century — the  next  centuries. 


THE  MEN  WHO  DID  THE  WORK. 

In  the  Minutes  of  1879  is  a  table  containing  a  list  of  all  the  men  who  labored 
in  the  State,  in  the  ministry,  from  the  earliest  times  to  that  year.  At  that 
time  the  number  was  slightly  over  one  thousand.  Many  of  these  were  large 
and  efficient  men,  who  wrought  long  and  well;  some  were  good  men,  but, 
apparently,  not  efficient ;  a  few  were  bad  men,  proving  themselves  such  ;  a  few 
left  us  or  were  excluded  for  doctrinal  unsoundness.  The  great  mass  of  them 
were  men  of  God.  In  the  early  years  of  our  history  the  Minutes  of  the  Asso- 
ciation warned  the  Churches,  year  by  year,  of  men  immoral  in  life  or  defective 
in  doctrine. 

Among  the  leaders  have  been  men  like  S.  J.  Drake,  C.  W.  Mulford,  Thomas 
Swaim,  D.  B.  Stout,  James  M.  Challis,  Zelotes  Grenelle,  G.  S.  Webb,  H.  C.  Fish. 
In  the  earlier  part  of  the  century  were  Rev.  Henry  Smalley,  a  graduate  of 
Princeton,  Pastor  at  Cohansey  from  1790  to  1839;  Dr.  Samuel  Stillman,  after- 
ward the  distinguished  Pastor  of  the  First  Church  of  Boston,  and  Ebenezer 
Kinnersley,  an  associate  of  Franklin  in  his  scientific  discoveries,  and  Professor 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Alongside  of  them  have  stood,  pillar-like,  men  in  the  membership.  P.  P 
Runyon,  D.  M.  Wilson,  H.  J.  Mulford,  S.  Van  Wickle,  were  men  that  enrich 
any  State  or  Church  that  owns  them.  Whatever  God  may  withhold  from  us 
in  the  next  century,  may  He  give  us  an  abundant  supply  of  wise-hearted  men. 
Tennyson  sings,  "On  God  and  God-like  men  we  build."  We  need  the  same 
kind  of  foundations. 

ASSOCIATIONS. 

In  the  early  years  all  of  our  Churches  were  members  of  the  Philadelphia 
Association.  In  1791,  a  number  of  Churches  in  Southern  New  York  and  North- 
eastern New  Jersey  were  dismissed  to  form  the  New  York  and  Warwick  Asso- 
ciations. In  1811,  fourteen  Churches  were  dismissed  to  form  the  New  Jersey 
Association. 

In  the  following  table  is  a  list  of  the  Associations,  the  date  of  their  organiza- 
tion, the  number  of  Churches  at  the  time  of  their  formation,  with  their  present 
standing : 


48 

When  Churches  at  Churches         Member- 

Name  of  Association.  Organized.  Organization.  Now.  ship. 

New  Jersey,  (now  West  Jersey) 1811  14  29  5,251 

Central...'. 1828  7  25  4,013 

Sussex,  (now  North) 1833  4  51  7,515 

East 1842  14  33  8,159 

Trenton 1864  10  35  6,708 

Camden 1887  29  30  5,747 

At  the  present  time  all  the  Churches  in  the  State  are  connected  with  each 
other  in  associational  ties.  The  Associations  are  incorporated  bodies,  and 
carry  on  a  Missionary  work  within  their  own  boundaries. 

A   LOOK   BACKWARD. 

Two  hundred  years  ago  all  the  baptized  believers  on  this  continent  could 
have  found  large  accommodations  in  this  meeting-house.  Then  they  met  in 
plain  houses.  One  century  ago  not  more  than  half  of  them  were  warmed  with 
stoves.  The  meeting-houses  were  not  large.  One  was  only  24  by  21  feet. 
They  oftentimes  met  in  private  houses.  For  forty-one  years  the  Baptist  saints 
at  Hopewell  met  in  private  houses.  They  sometimes,  Edwards  says,  met  in 
barns.  Masson,  in  his  life  of  Milton,  says :  "  This  obscure  Baptist  congregation 
seems  to  have  been  the  depository  for  all  England  of  the  absolute  principle  of 
liberty  of  conscience.  It  was,  in  short,  from  this  little  dingy  meeting-house, 
somewhere  in  old  London,  that  there  flashed  out  first  in  England  the  absolute 
doctrine  of  religious  liberty."  We  may  say  the  same  of  these  simple,  unadorned 
old  Baptist  meeting-houses.  They  were  not  spacious  or  splendid,  but  they 
stood  for  magnificent  truths. 

At  that  time  they  had  no  school,  no  paper,  no  organization  outside  of  the 
Church.  Their  principles  were  looked  upon  as  visionary  and  seditious;  but 
the  world  has  moved  on  after  them.  They  planted  a  principle  that  has  grown 
so  that  a  continent  sits  quietly  under  its  shade.  More  than  a  century  after  our 
Churches  were  organized  a  Committee  from  the  Philadelphia  Association  waited 
upon  a  Committee  of  Congress  in  October,  1777.  John  Adams  said,  "They 
might  as  well  turn  the  heavenly  bodies  out  of  their  annual  and  diurnal  courses 
as  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  at  the  present  day,  from  their  meeting  house 
and  Sunday  laws."  Time  went  on,  and  the  world  caught  up  to  the  thoughts  of 
our  Baptist  fathers  and  followed  their  leadership.  In  18U7  there  was  an  esti- 
mated Baptist  membership  in  this  country  of  122,500.  To-day  we  report  over 
three  million  baptized  believers  in  our  Churches,  over  four  million  in  our  land. 

The  reported  valuation  of  Church  and  school  property  in  the  State  is  three 
million  dollars;  the  yearly  expenditure  for  Christ's  work,  over  four  hundred 


49 

thousand  dollars.  "We  have  schools  and  position  and  power  and  numbers. 
Above  all  these,  we  have  obligation  and  opportunity.  Our  principles  have 
taken  root.  Other  evangelical  bodies  have  been  leavened  by  the  teachings 
which  we  hold.  As  we  look  back,  we  can  only  thank  God  for  the  steadfastness 
of  the  men  who  went  before  us,  and  thank  Him  who  made  them  and  kept 
them. 

A   LOOK   ONWARD. 

In  October,  1988,  the  Baptists  of  New  Jersey  will  hold  their  three  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  this  Church.  Then  we  shall  all  be  dead.  The 
men  of  1688,  who  laid  the  foundations,  are  dead.  The  men  of  1788,  present  at 
the  first  centennial,  are  dead.  The  men  of  1888— ourselves — will  be  dead  in 
1988.  One  urn  would  hold  all  that  will  be  left  of  us.  We  owe  a  great  deal  to 
our  ancestors.  We  owe  a  great  deal  to  posterity.  We  must  try  to  mold  this 
third  century  by  making  our  Churches  more  efficient  now.  We  must  mold  the 
century  by  cultivating  better  Pastors  and  a  better  membership.  May  that 
third  century  witness  a  membership  better  trained  in  the  Bible — every  mem- 
ber studying  it  systematically ;  every  Church  having  trained  lay  Ministers  ; 
every  city  organized  for  efi'ective  city  mission  work  ;  every  Association  employ- 
ing Missionaries  within  its  bounds ;  every  home  enlightened  by  religious  and 
denominational  literature;  every  Church  member  converted  into  a  partnership 
with  all  good  agencies;  every  Church  a  source  of  light  and  healing  and  lead- 
ership for  the  community  in  which  it  lives.  And  to  this  end  we  must  keep 
very  close  to  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus,  the  Christ.  We  must  be  unselfish, 
helping  all  good  agencies,  having  large  hearts  and  helping  hands.  We  must 
aim  at  larger  numbers.  But  we  must  not  be  content  with  numbers.  Mere 
bigness  is  not  greatness,  it  is  simply  opportunity.  We  must  put  so  much  of 
Christ  into  our  lives  and  so  much  force  into  all  our  agencies  for  good  that  the 
millennium  shall  come  with  a  quicker  step. 

We  grew  in  days  of  persecution.  Can  we  now  grow  in  efficiency  and  main- 
tain purity  in  the  days  of  prosperity  ?  Our  numbers  and  position  put  us  under 
bonds  to  enlarged  fidelity  and  consecration.  We  need  to  enlarge  the  idea  of 
Baptist  orthodoxy  so  that  it  shall  mean  standing  by  the  scripturalness  and  in- 
tegrity of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper;  the  holding  every  revealed  teaching 
of  the  New  Testament ;  the  making  each  Church,  in  its  own  community,  a 
power  that  makes  for  righteousness  ;  the  filling  up  of  every  blank  in  the  table 
for  benevolence.    Piety  and  practice  must  go  hand  in  hand. 

TWO    HUNDRED   YEARS'   WORK. 

We  present  here  a  table  compiled  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Carpenter,  showing  the 
statistics  of  the  Churches  of  the  State  for  the  two  hundred  years  past : 
4 


50 


1 

o 

a 

V 

ASSOCIATION. 

i 

0. 

oa 

>< 

.a 

■6 
o 

(5 

>> 

Q 

j3 
P 

c 

1707 

Philafielphia 

5,14S|       468 
3,526     1,044 
1,029        143 
26,113:  10,798 
8,279    3.295 

57 

74 

9 

1,282 

289 

348 

*541 

207 

20 

1,441 

1,349 

444 

12,120 

4,005 

4,840 

11,089 

2,944 

160 

831 

724 

127 

5,029 

1,882 

1,?>00 

3,292 

1,492 

78 

341 

1791 

New  York 

404 

1791 

Warwick,  N.  Y 

78 

1811 

Wes-^ 

3,045 

1828 

Central 

1,923 

1833 
1841 
1864 

North 

East 

Trenton 

8.677 
18,752 

6,455 
394 
689 

4,181 

11,117 

2,500 

163 

2,882 
5,002 
2,267 

1887 

100 

79,062 

33,709 

2,827 

38,392 

14,955 

16,042 

According  to  these  figures,  as  given  in  the  Minutes,  our  menabership  ought 
to  be  nearly  ten  thousand  more  than  it  is. 

Nearly  eighty  thousand  have  been  baptized.  We  have  laid  away  about  fif- 
teen thousand  of  our  membership. 

"  Their  bones  are  dust. 
Their  souls  are  with  the  saints,  we  trust." 

Would  that  we  might  truly  say  to-day  that  we  present  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century,  for  effective  service,  nearly  forty 
thousand  believers  gathered  into  about  two  hundred  organizations. 


THE  THIRD   CENTURY. 

Will  the  completed  third  century  stop  to  think  of  us  and  our  work  ?  Let  us 
be  content  to  work  honestly  and  faithfully,  knowing  that  He  will  not  forget 
us.  Nor  will  He  allow  others  to  forget  us.  When  1988  comes  there  will  be 
over  150,000,000  people  in  our  land.  May  the  New  Jersey  Baptists  of  to-day, 
in  their  numbers,  in  their  piety,  in  their  effectiveness,  be  utterly  insignificant 
when  measured  by  their  successors  who  shall  gather  at  the  next  centennial. 
And  may  we,  all  of  us  who  gather  here  in  October,  1888,  be  found  worthy  in 
October,  1988,  to  join  with  Abel  Morgan  and  John  Drake  and  Thomas  Killing- 
worth  in  singing  "unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb 
be  the  blessing  and  the  honor  and  the  glory  and  the  dominion  forever  and 
forever." 


TUK    -MOXUMKNT    TO    llKX.    Al5EL    MoKCi-VX. 

Unveiled  Oct.  30th,  18S8. 


51 


Unveiling  of  the  Monument. 


The  large  audience  then  retired  from  the  Church  to  the  graveyard 
adjoining  the  Church,  on  the  east  side,  facing  the  street,  where  one 
thousand  or  more  of  people  were  gathered  to  hear  the  services  and 
witness  the  solemn  ceremony. 

This  handsome  monument  is  of  Ouincy  granite,  and  is  erected  to 
the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  A.  M.,  the  Revolutionary 
patriot,  and  for  nearly  half  a  centur}-  (47  years)  Pastor  of  the  Mid- 
dletown  Baptist  Church,  and  the  most  prominent  figure  in  the  early 
annals  of  the  New  Jersey  Baptists.  It  w^as  erected  by  the  free-will 
offerings  from  two  hundred  Baptist  Churches  throughout  New  Jersey, 
at  the  cost  of  five  hundred  dollars. 

Beneath  this  monument  lie  the  remains  of  Abel  Morgan,  taken  up 
and  removed  from  the  old  Presbyterian  burial  site,  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  east  of  the  Church,  from  whence  they  were  disinterred  on 
Wednesday,  October  24th,  1888,  in  the  presence  of  William  Mount, 
undertaker,  George  C.  Marks,  Charles  Morford  and  some  others,  and 
thence  taken  to  the  Baptist  Church,  where  they  remained  over  night, 
and  on  Thursdaj^,  October  25tli,  1888,  were  sacredly  deposited  in 
their  last  resting  place,  in  the  base  of  the  monument.  A  really  re- 
markable fact  about  them  is  that,  though  he  had  been  dead  103 
3'ears  when  the  grave  was  opened,  there  lay  the  perfect  skeleton  of 
the  deceased  Pastor,  though  the  coffin,  clothing  and  everything  else 
was  gone.     Every  bone  of  the  body  was  found. 


52 

The  skeleton  was  that  of  a  man  about  six  feet  in  height ;  the 
greatest  length  of  skull  was  one  foot  ten  and  one-quarter  inches  ; 
the  shortest  length  of  skull  was  one  foot  seven  and  one-half  inches, 
and  the  thigh  bone  measured  nineteen  inches.  Thus  the  proof  is 
given  us  that  he  was  the  large  man  who  so  discomfited  the  smaller 
man,  President  Finney,  of  Princeton,  in  their  great  debate  on  bap- 
tism, at  Cape  Ma}',  the  many  long  years  ago,  as  recorded  in  histor3\ 

The  inscription  upon  the  monument  reads  : 

In  Memory  of  Abel  Morgan, 

Pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Middletown, 

Who  departed  this  life 
Nov.  24,  1785, 

IN   THE    73D  YEAR   OF    HIS   AGE. 


His  Life  was  Blameless — 

His  Ministry  Powerful — 

He  was  a  Burning  and  Shining  Light- 

His  Memory  Dear  to  the  Saints. 


Erected  by  the  Baptists  of  New  Jersey,  Oct.  30th,  1888. 

The  services  of  unveiling  the  monument  consisted  of — 
SI'NGl'NG—Amerzca "  My  Countrv 'Tis  of  Tiieu." 

PRAYER, .^ By  Rev.  James  W.  Wilmarth, 

Pastor  of  the  Roxboroiigh  Baptist  Church,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
Aloderator  of  the  Old  Philadelphia  Baptist  Association. 

ADDRESS, By  Rev.  Wiluam  V.  Wilson, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Monument. 


53 

•Address  at   i:ln\'eilinc|,        .        .         By   ReV.    William    V-    Wilson, 

ChairiJian  of  Committee  oti  Monument. 

In  honoring  others  who  deserve  honors,  we  honor  ourselves.  In  this  case  it 
comes  late ;  but  better  late,  it  may  be,  than  never.  Happy  for  me,  in  the  part 
assigned  me  in  these  Bi-Centennial  services,  that  I  need  not  go  back  into  the 
doubtful,  uncertain,  conflicting  and  traditional.  Happy,  probably,  if  none  of 
us  had  to  go  back  in  history  beyond  that  chiseled  on  this  unveiled  monument. 
Happy,  shall  I  not  say,  if  the  whole  of  the  record  on  which  we  rely,  prior  to 
this  period,  had  shared  the  fate  of  a  past  cremation,  and  thus  left  us  to  begin 
with  the  history  of  the  good  and  great  man  of  whom  I  am  now  to  speak. 
True,  our  exercises  would  not  be  a  bi-centennial  in  the  full  sense  of  that  term, 
but  they  would  go  back  far  enough  to  reach  the  more  certain  and  more  mate- 
rial facts  of  the  history  of  this  ancient  Church. 

The  evidence  is  full,  clear  and  reliable  that  there  was  such  a  man  as  Abel 
Morgan,  and  that  he  was  Pastor  of  this  Church  for  very  many  years.  One 
record  says  from  1739  to  1785 ;  another,  from  1748  to  1785.  Both  records  agree 
that  he  died  in  1785,  and  at  the  age  of  72  years.  Either  gives  a  long  pastorate. 
But  the  true  measure  of  a  preacher  is  not  the  length  of  his  pastorate,  whether 
longer  or  shorter,  but  what  he  really  was  and  what  he  really  did.  Fortunately, 
we  have  the  testimony  from  two  sources,  the  pen  anfl  the  chisel — what  was 
written  on  paper,  and  what  was  engraven  on  stone— in  attestation  of  the  char- 
acter and  work  of  Abel  Morgan.  And  what  is  so  desirable  is,  that  these  wit- 
nesses agree.  If  it  be  said  that  the  engraved  record,  as  we  now  find  it,  may 
not  be  as  the  original,  because  the  kind  of  stone  then  in  common  use  differed 
from  what  we  now  use,  we  have  only  to  reply  that  the  transcriber,  whoever 
he  was  and  whenever  the  work  was  done  (for  there  is  no  knowledge  of  either), 
must  have  been  wonderfully  accurate,  for  it  perfectly  agrees  with  the  written 
record.  Hence,  we  have  felt  entirely  safe  in  transferring  it  to  our  nen^  monu- 
ment.   This  inscription  reads  : 

In  Memory  of  Abel  Morgan, 

Pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Middletown, 

Who  departed  ihis  life 

Nov.  24,  1785, 

IN   THE   73D   YEAR   OF   HIS   AGE. 

His  Life  was  Blameless — 

His  Ministry  Powerful — 

He  was  a  Burning  and  Shining  Light — 

His  Memory  Dear  to  the  Saints. 


54 

In  these  four  sentences  we  have  a  noble  testimony.  It  is  grand!  It  is 
sublime !  Where  the  Minister  of  Jesus  who  could  ask  for  more?  Where  is  he 
who  ought  to  desire  less ! 

"  His  Life  was  Blameless."  This  is  beautiful !  Nearer  the  Divine  pattern 
than  anything  of  which  we  can  think.  A  prime  element  in  every  Gospel 
preacher.  It  is  the  perfectioij  of  Christian  character.  Somehow,  we  are  apt  to 
think  it  will  not  be  attained  until  the  coming  of  our  Lord  !  But  here  was  one 
of  whom  it  is  affirmed  that  he  had  already  attained  to  this  superior  excellence. 
Showing  that  it  is  within  the  reach  of  others — within  the  reach  of  all. 

"  His  Ministry  was  Powerful^  He  had  power  with  God  and  with  men.  His 
preaching  had  a  telling  effect.  He  secured  the  attention  of  his  hearers,  en- 
lightened their  minds,  informed  their  judgment,  convinced  their  consciences, 
and  captivated  their  wills. 

The  Holy  Spirit  made  him  a  chosen  vessel  to  bring  sinners  into  the  Kingdom. 
Converts  were  multiplied  by  hundreds.  We  rightly  judge  he  was  a  man  of 
Prayer,  of  Faith  and  Hope ;  and,  like  Barnabas,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"He  was  a  Burning  and  Shining  Light."  Another  characteristic  of  the 
Bible's  greatest  Preachers,  and  one  given  by  our  Lord  himself.  He  was  a  light 
— a  gospel  light — a  reflection  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  A  burning  light. 
All  aglow  with  the  fire  of  truth,  love  and  zeal.  "A  shining  light."  A  light  seen- 
A  light  for  others.  Nothing  in  his  character,  walk,  conversation,  preaching, 
labors,  to  obscure  it.     It  ever  shone  brightly,  and  shone  constantly. 

"His  Memory  Dear  to  the  Saints."  (Not  Baptist  saints  alone,  but  saints  in 
general,  all  the  saints.)  With  such  a  character,  such  eloquence,  such  fervid 
zeal,  such  untiring  devotion,  so  Christ-like,  so  benevolent  and  pure,  so  full  of 
the  Gospel — its  love,  sympathy  and  power — how  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  All 
the  saints  loved  him.  He  was  lovely  and  lovable.  Grace — the  grace  of  Christ 
— had  made  him  so. 

Faithful  as  he  was  to  his  own  convictions  of  truth,  and  a  firm  defender  of 
Baptistic  views  of  doctrine  and  practice,  his  other  qualities  of  mind  and  heart 
overshadowed  everything  else,  so  that  saints  of  other  communions  loved  him, 
equally  with  those  of  his  own.  As  proof  of  this  he  found  his  burial  place  in 
a  Presbyterian  graveyard,  where  his  remains  have  slumbered  until  now. 

Do  we  not  well  to  call  to  mind  such  a  man,  and  such  a  Preacher?  To  rescue 
his  record  from  oblivion  and  make  it  as  really  prominent  and  imperishable  as 
we  can  !  If  it  ever  be  right  and  commendable  to  erect  monuments  in  memory 
of  the  Ministers  of  Jesus,  I  think  we  are  doing  a  good  work  to-day. 

Where,  upon  all  the  monuments  of  the  ages,  or  upon  the  unearthed  and 
deciphered  stones  of  the  dead,  will  you  find  inscriptions  equal  in  their  simplicity, 
significance,  feeling  and  grandeur  to  those  of  Abel  Morgan  ?    Inscriptions  made 


55 

not  by  his  fancy  or  kindness,  but  by  the  Church,  the  community,  Christians 
of  every  name — expressive  of  tlieir  estimate  of  his  character  and  work,  their 
united  testimony  of  him  as  a  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Surely  we  do  not  err 
in  judgment  when  we  say  he  takes  rank  in  history  with  the  greatest  Preachers 
of  our  faith — Alfred  Bennet,  Adoniram  Judson,  Spencer  H.  Cone,  William 
Staughton,  Roger  Williams.  What  w' ould  not  be  the  Ministry  of  our  day  if  all 
who  claim  to  be  the  servants  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Preachers  of  the  Ever- 
lasting Gospel,  were  like  Abel  Morgan  ? 

With  such  qualifications  of  mind  and  heart,  were  it  possible,  I  would  like  to 
take  out  a  new  commission  for  a  half  century  more !  But  this  cannot  be,  nor 
with  many  others  treading  close  after  me.  But  there  are  others  here,  younger 
Brethren,  who,  I  hope,  will  catch  the  inspiration  of  this  occasion  and  so  conse- 
crate themselves  anew  to  their  chosen  work  that,  in  the  after  ages,  when  their 
tomb-stones  are  searched  for,  there  may  be  found  similar  inscriptions  to  what 
we  shall  now  see  upon  this  monument. 

A  monument  erected  by  the  Baptists  of  New  Jersey,  without  the  sound  of 
the  saw  or  the  hammer ;  simply  by  the  free-will  offerings  of  the  people.  A 
monument  under  which,  in  a  wonderful  state  of  preservation,  lie  the  remains 
of  "  the  incomparable  Abel  Morgan." 


56 


Tuesday  evening,  at  7  o'clock,  the  Bi-Centennial  Exercises  were 
continued  by  a  Service  of  Song. 

The  Commemoration  Anthem,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lowry,  was  repeated 
by  request. 

A  General  Conference  on  ' '  Historical  Incidents ' '  and  ' '  Happy 
Reminiscences,"  was  opened  by  Rev.  D.  J.  Yerkes,  D.D.,  of  Plain- 
field. 

The  following  addresses  are  from  the  verbatim  notes  of  Prof.  J.  N. 
Kimball,  stenographer,  New  York. 


57 


9\ddress,  ....  By   ReN?.    1).    |.   ferkes,    ®.||). 

Mr.  Chairman,  Brethren  and  Friends — Two  hundred  years  ago 
this  Church  of  Middletown  was  organized.  There  ought  to  be  in  our 
thoughts  to-night  an  appreciation  of  the  greatness  of  an  event  like  this, 
which  I  think  we  do  not  always,  nor,  indeed,  often  feel.  The  facts  by 
which  a  Church  comes  into  existence  are  to  us,  in  a  certain  way,  common- 
place things,  and  so  lose  their  significance.  Two  hundred  years  ago 
there  were  hereabouts  a  few  men  and  women  who  believed  in  the  Ivord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  had  been  baptized  into  His  name.  They  came  together 
like  the  disciples  at  Jerusalem,  with  one  consent,  to  worship  God  ;  with 
one  purpose,  to  serve  Him  and  extend  His  kingdom.  They  took  His 
Word  as  their  rule  of  doctrine  and  practice.  They  called  a  man  to 
minister  to  them  by  the  Word,  and  in  the  administration  of  the  holy  ordi- 
nances of  the  divine  appointment.  These  are  the  great  and  essential 
facts  connected  on  the  human  side  with  the  coming  into  existence  of  a 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  back  of  these  facts  were  the  will  and  power 
of  God.  A  Church  does  not  come  down  bodily  from  heaven,  and  yet, 
as  the  rain  and  sunshine  fall  upon  the  earth,  and  life  springs  out  ot  the 
ground,  spiritual  power  coming  down  into  the  hearts  of  men  calls  into 
existence  a  Church,  builded  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  of  which  Jesus  Christ  himself  is  the  chief  corner-stone. 

A  Church  of  Christ,  in  all  that  characterizes  it  as  such,  has  nothing  in 
common  with  this  world.  It  is  divine  in  its  origin,  for  every  person  who 
is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  born  of  God,  and  from  on 
high.  The  supplies  by  which  a  Church  is  sustained  come  down  from 
above.  The  aim  of  the  true  Church  is  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  among  men.  The  constitution  of  the  Christian  Church  is  written 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  himself  is  the  expounder  and 
interpreter  of  the  Word.  The  Minister  that  preaches  is  called  of  God, 
and  endowed  by  the  spirit  of  God  for  his  work.  You  can  make  a  Church 
in  no  other  way  than  that  which  I  have  indicated.  We  have  societies,  and 
fraternities,  and  associations  among  men,  with  earthly  aims  ;  you  cannot 
make  Churches  out  of  them.  We  have  religious  organizations,  mission- 
ary societies,  Bible  societies,  tract  societies  and  a  variety  of  associations 
for  moral  and  religious  work,  but  let  us  never  forget  that  these  are  not 
5 


■         58 

Churches  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  has  not  committed  to  them  the  keeping  of 
the  ordinances  of  His  house. 

A  true  Church  was  organized  here  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  since 
then  other  Churches  have  been  organized,  and  are  now  holding  forth  the 
Word  of  Life.  The  history  of  these  Churches,  Brethren,  has  been  the 
histor}'  of  our  denomination  in  this  State  of  New  Jersey.  What  a  won- 
derful history.  A  history  that  gathers  its  material  from  no  field  of  conflict 
where  nations  have  contended  for  mastery,  from  the  records  of  no  parlia- 
ment with  its  high  debates,  from  the  minutes  of  no  congress  of  science  ; 
its  materials  were  wrought  in  the  lives  of  men  and  women  who  lived  the 
life  of  Christ  on  earth,  and  though  unrecognized  by  the  world  and 
unwritten  In'  the  world's  historians,  this  history  is  written  in  the  hearts 
of  the  saints  of  God,  is  known  of  Him,  and  kept  in  that  Book  of  Remem- 
brance which  He  keeps  for  His  people. 

It  is  worth  while  for  us  to-night  to  think  of  the  obligations  we  are 
xinder  to  the  great  and  good  men  who  made  the  history  of  these  two  hun- 
dred years.  Man  is  the  important  factor  in  this  world,  and  in  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  on  its  earthward  side  ;  back  of  all  human  events  and  of 
all  history  is  the  man.  His  feelings,  and  thoughts,  and  plans,  and  cour- 
age and  faith  are  the  forces  which  shape  and  control  its  movements.  In 
this  nineteenth  century  we  sometimes  boast  of  its  progress,  as  if  we  our- 
selves were  the  authors  of  its  greatness,  but  our  day  and  labor  are  linked 
with  the  past,  and  we  have  only  entered  into  the  labors  of  other  men. 
We  are  glad  to-night  because  of  this  history  that  has  been  recounted  in 
our  hearing,  and  we  are  thankful  to  God  for  what  has  been  achieved,  but 
how  much  and  vastly  more  has  been  done  by  the  men  who  have  rested 
from  their  labors  than  by  ourselves.  If  we  build  higher,  it  is  only 
because  we  are  building  upon  the  foundations  which  they  laid.  These 
great  trees  that  are  about  us  did  not  grow  so  strong  because  the  life  of  a 
single  summer-time  came  into  them.  Thej^  have  received  growth  and 
girth  and  strength  from  the  life  of  many  summers,  and  our  denomination 
has  not  grown  to  its  present  proportions  because  of  the  little  which  we 
have  done,  but  because  there  has  come  into  it  the  power  of  the  lives  of 
the  men  whose  names  have  been  recalled  by  the  papers  read  to-day.  As 
we  think  of  our  prosperity,  we  think  of  these,  our  Brethren.  Our  pro- 
gress has  not  been  evolved  from  nothing.  It  has  been  evolved  largely 
from  the  toils  and  trials,  the  patience  and  fidelity,  the  hope,  courage  and 
faith  of  our  fathers. 


59 

Someone  has  said,  that  ' '  Whenever  God  has  a  great  thing  to  accomplish 
in  this  world  there  is  a  great  man  not  far  away  ;  "  when  He  would  bring 
His  people  up  out  of  Egypt,  there  was  a  Moses  ;  when  He  would  send 
the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  there  was  the  Apostle  Paul  ;  when  He  would 
arouse  Europe  to  a  sense  of  papal  corruption,  there  was  a  Luther  ;  when 
He  would  plant  in  Scotland  the  seed  of  evangelical  faith,  there  was  a 
John  Knox,  and  when  He  would  deepen  the  spirituality  and  break  up  the 
formalism  of  the  Churches  of  England,  there  were  the  Wesleys  and 
Whitfield  ;  and  when  God  would  stir  the  heart  of  the  Christian  Church 
with  a  spirit  of  missions,  there  was  a  Carey.  And  so  the  men  who  have 
gone  before  us  and  called  of  God,  have  wrought,  and  they  live  in  the 
history  we  are  repeating  to-day.  Emerson  said,  "The  best  history  of  the 
world  is  written  in  the  biographies  of  its  great  and  good  men."  The  best 
history  of  these  two  hundred  years  is  found  in  the  lives  of  our  fathers. 

If  we  should  mention  the  names  of  all  these  men,  what  a  glorious 
galaxy  they  would  make.  While  looking  recently  over  the  history  of 
some  of  our  old  Churches,  I  was  surprised  at  the  number  of  notable  men 
who  have  ministered  to  tbem.  Of  this  Church  were  the  "  incomparable 
Abel  Morgan,"  Samuel  Morgan,  Thomas  Roberts  (dear,  loving  old  man, 
whom  I  knew  in  my  childhood,)  and  David  Stout.  Of  Piscataway  Church, 
John  Drake,  Benjamin  Stelle,  Isaac  Stelle,  Reune  Runj'an,  James 
McLaughlin,  Daniel  Dodge,  all  men  of  blessed  memory.  Of  Cohansey 
Church,  Thomas  Killingsworth,  Robert  Kelsay,  Henry  Smalley.  Of 
Hopewell,  Isaac  Eaton,  Oliver  Hart,  and  John  Hart,  a  layman  and  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Of  Hightstown,  John  Car- 
men, Peter  Wilson  and  Lewis  Smith.  Of  Scotch  Plains,  Benjamin 
Miller,  William  Van  Horn,  Thomas  Brown  and  John  Rogers.  Of  Morris- 
town,  John  Gano,  an  eminent  servant  of  Christ.  Of  Freehold,  David 
Jones,  a  name  of  renown.  Of  Salem,  Abel  Griffiths,  Peter  Van  Horn 
and  Isaac  Skillman.  Of  New  Brunswick,  Father  Webb,  Henry  F.  Smith  ; 
and  among  the  laymen  of  this  Church,  men  like  P.  P.  Runyan  and  S.  V. 
Wickle.  Of  Newark,  Daniel  Sharp,  William  Hague,  John  Dowling,  H.  C. 
Fish,  H.  V.  Jones  and  such  laymen  as  D.  M.  Wilson,  H.  M.  Baldwin  and 
Morgan  L.  Smith.  Of  Paterson,  Zelotes  Grinnell  and  Rufus  Babcock. 
Of  Flemington,  Bartollete  and  Mulford  and  Swaim.  Of  Somptown, 
Lebbeus  Lathrop.  Of  Plainfield,  Jacob  Randolph,  Daniel  T.  Hill  (father  of 
the  President  Hill,  of  Rochester  University.)  and  Simeon  J.  Drake.  Time 
fails  to  recall  the  names  of  others  "  who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms, 


6o 

wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 
quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of 
weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the 
armies  of  the  aliens." 

But,  Brethren,  some  of  these  stood  near  to  us  in  point  of  time.  They 
were,  with  us,  fellow-helpers  to  the  truth  ;  their  hands  clasped  ours  in 
brotherly  greetings  ;  we  looked  into  their  faces  when  they  were  alive, 
and  saw  them  when  upon  them  was  the  paleness  of  death  ;  their  presence, 
and  looks,  and  words,  and  labors  are  imaged  on  our  hearts,  and  are 
garnered  with  the  most  precious  things  our  memories  hold.  First  of  all 
was  the  great  patriarch  of  our  tribe.  Father  Webb— how  grand  and  good 
he  was  !  On  one  occasion  a  Brother  said  to  me,  after  Father  Webb  had 
visited  Plainfield,  "  Why,  his  grand  old  face  is  as  good  as  any  sermon." 
How  we  loved  him,  because  he  loved  us  all  with  such  tenderness  !  Zelotes 
Grinnell,  clear,  pungent,  powerful  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  he  could 
soar  like  an  eagle,  but  was  as  simple  as  a  child,  with  a  heart  as  tender  as 
a  woman's,  and  yet  bold  as  a  lion  ;  a  dauntless  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  he  proved  himself  such  when  he  fought  the  battle  of  truth  against 
antinomianism,  which  threatened  the  Churches  in  the  northern  section 
of  our  State  when  he  was  a  Pastor  there.  Henry  C.  Fish — how  we  miss 
the  magic  of  his  word  and  the  inspiration  of  his  spirit  in  these  gather- 
ings !  Well  endowed,  he  was  an  able  Minister  of  Christ ;  fully  equipped, 
he  was  a  good  soldier  of  the  cross,  who  fought  the  battle  to  the  end,  and 
fell  upon  the  battle-field  with  the  shout  of  victory  on  his  lips.  You  will 
remember  that  he  said,  "When  I  am  gone  let  there  be  no  mournful 
strain,  but  let  it  be  a  pean  of  victory."  Henry  F.  Smith,  so  abundant  in 
labors — what  a  true-hearted  Brother  !  What  a  strong  faith  he  had  ! 
Becau.se  he  leaned  so  full}-  upon  God,  and  followed  so  entirely  His  Word, 
and  leaned  upon  Him,  and  confided  in  His  leadership.  Robert  F. 
Young — so  gentle,  and  yet  sti'ong  in  the  elements  of  spiritual  power  ;  a 
sweet,  pure  spirit  who  has  found  a  home  more  genial  than  earth.  And 
there  were  noble  lay  Brethren  whose  faces  we  were  wont  to  see  in  these 
meetings  of  our  convention.  P.  P.  Runyan,  a  pillar  in  our  spiritual 
commonwealth.  D.  M.  Wilson,  that  stalwart  Christian  who  presided  for 
.so  many  years  over  this  body.  Morgan  L.  Smith,  a  Christian  philanthro- 
pist. H.  M.  Baldwin,  on  whose  face  we  seemed  to  see  the  brightness  of 
the  coming  glory  into  which  he  has  entered.  S.  V.  Van  Wickle  and 
Hiram  Deitz — beautiful  in  their  lives  and  beautiful  in  their  death,  they 


6i 

were  laborers  together,  with  strong  and  willing  hearts  and  hands.  "The 
strong  staff  is  broken,  and  the  beautiful  rod."  There  are  some  who  are 
with  us  still,  near  the  border  of  the  land  beyond  us,  upon  whose  heads 
the  frosts  of  the  coming  winter  are  falling,  and  here  to-night  we  would 
crown  them  with  grateful  recognition  of  their  services  to  the  cause  of 
God  [applause],  and  rejoice  with  them  in  their  anticipation  of  the  wel- 
come that  awaits  them.     "  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant." 

Brethren  and  friends,  we  have  entered  into  the  labors  of  these  men, 
and  our  duty  to  God  and  men  is  to  carry  on  the  work  they  have  left.  If 
any  of  you  have  stood  near  the  Cathedral  at  Milan,  you  remember  the 
great  heights  from  foundation  to  pinnacle.  It  is  too  vast  to  take  in  at  a 
single  view.  The  sight  climbs  upward  from  foundation  to  window,  from 
window  to  clustering  spires,  from  those  to  the  great  spire,  and  still 
upward  till  the  eye  rests  on  the  cross  that  stands  out  against  the  clear 
blue  sky  of  Italy.  They  tell  us  that  this  Cathedral  was  five  hundred 
years  in  building.  How  many  generations  of  men  wrought  upon  it? 
Generations  after  generations  toiled  to  uplift  that  cross  which  for  centu- 
ries has  been  pointing  toward  the  heavens.  Our  fathers  laid  foundation 
and  built  thereon.  We  are  building  on  the  work  they  did,  and  as  they 
built— to  lift  the  true  Cross  of  Christ  that  men  may  see  it,  look  and  live. 
[Applause].  This  hour  is  rich  with  sacred  memories  of  the  men  and 
women  who  have  gone  before  us.  What  a  royal  lineage  we  have  in  them  ! 
By  it  there  comes  to  us  the  true  apostolic  succession.  [Applause.]  Let 
us  gather  inspiration  to-night  from  their  example,  and  with  added  power 
take  up  and  carry  on  this  great  work  which  God  has  committed  to  our 
hands. 

Soon  we  shall  have  passed  away.  A  little  while  the  night  will  come, 
the  harvest  sickle  will  drop  from  our  tired  hands.  Oh,  that  when  we 
shall  have  finished  our  work,  and  others  shall  stand  in  these  places  to 
say  a  few  words  over  us,  grant  that  they  may  have  this  to  say,  that  we 
did  something  for  the  honor  of  our  blessed  Master.  Let  us  seek  no 
crown  but  the  crown  we  can  lay  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  Beloved,  this  is  a 
memorial  occasion,  and  let  it  be  a  day  lik;e  that  in  which  Israel  reared 
the  memorial  stones  that  all  the  people  of  the  earth  may  know  the  hand 
of  the  Lord,  that  it  is  mighty,  and  that  we  may  fear  the  Lord  our  God 
forever.     [Applause.] 


62 


Address, By   JV|r.     I  homus    Koberts, 

Son  of  Rev.   Thomas  Roberts,  who  was  Pastor  of  Middletown  Baptist 
Church  for  Twelve  Years. 

I  sometimes  speak  in  public,  but  I  have  never  stood  as  high  above  the 
congregation  as  I  do  now.  Sixty-three  years  ago,  before  the  memory  of 
Brother  Parmly,  Middletown  Church  was  tinctured  with  antinomianism 
— that  is,  they  did  not  wish  to  do  God's  work — and  some  (not  all)  were 
opposed  to  Missions  and  Sunday-schools.  Father  did  not  oppose  them 
directly,  but  he  preached  the  Truth,  and  gradually  wore  away  this  spirit 
out  of  the  Church,  and  in  a  little  over  a  year's  time  he  established  a 
Sunday-school  in  the  house  that  stood  where  this  now  stands.  'Squire 
Osborne  was  the  Superintendent  of  that  Sunday-school,  and  there  are 
very  few  now  living  who  were  engaged  in  that  work.  Sixty-two  years 
ago  throughout  this  region,  and  possibly  throughout  the  whole  of  New 
Jersey,  but,  at  any  rate,  throughout  this  county,  go  into  any  person's 
house  and  you  would  be  invited  to  take  a  drink  of  whiskey.  At  funerals 
it  was  provided,  at  weddings  it  was  provided,  and  in  this  village  there 
were  two  stores  where  rum  was  sold  by  the  quart,  two  taverns  where  it 
was  sold  by  the  drink,  and  one  still-house  where  it  was  sold  b}'  the  barrel. 
At  Westport  there  was  a  distillery,  and  in  Chanceville  there  was  a  store 
where  rum  was  sold  by  the  quart,  a  tavern  and  a  still-house.  At  Chapel 
Hill  there  was  a  tavern  and  a  still-house  ;  on  the  place  lately  occupied  by 
Col.  Conover  there  w-as  a  still-house  ;  at  Headen's  Corner  there  was  a 
store  where  rum  was  sold  by  the  quart,  and  drank  on  the  premises  ;  this 
side  of  it  there  was  a  still-house.  Rum  pervaded  the  whole  community. 
About  sixty-one  years  ago  father,  having  consulted  and  examined  the 
leading  members  of  the  Church  and  the  community,  preached  a  sermon 
from  First  Corinthians,  loth  chapter  and  15th  verse,  "I  speak  as  to  wise 
men  ;  judge  ye  what  I  say,"  and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  a  temperance 
pledge  was  signed  by  sixty-nine  persons.  [Applause.]  Judge  Paterson, 
the  grandfather  of  the  Assistant  Clerk  of  this  Church,  was  elected  the 
President  of  that  Temperance  Society,  and  father's  boys  went  from  house 
to  house  in  the  evenings  after  they  had  done  their  daj^'s  work,  and  got 
many  young  men  and  maidens  to  sign  that  pledge,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  those  who  went  by  our  house  carrjung  their  little  quart  jug 


Rev.  Thomas    Roberts. 
Pastor  12  years. 


63 

(which  they  used  to  call  "  Black  Betty")  in  their  hands  were  fain,  in  a 
short  time,  to  conceal  it  in  a  little  red  handkerchief.  [Applause  pro- 
longed.] 

From  that  time  the  cause  of  temperance  prospered  for  fifty  years,  and 
then  the  Devil  devised  another  plan,  in  his  cunning,  by  which  to  destroy 
the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  A  brewery  was  established  in  Newark,  and 
they  sent  out  their  emissaries  through  the  country,  and  prevailed  upon 
some  person  in  almost  every  neighborhood  to  sell  beer  on  commission, 
and  wagons  were  provided  to  carry  it  in,  so  that  they  might  stop  at  every 
house  and  sell  to  the  women.  This  plan  was  designed  to  produce  more 
evil,  more  danger,  more  destruction  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men  than 
ever  the  distilleries  and  rum-sellers  of  old  times.  Now,  you  are  aware 
that  last  winter  our  legislators,  in  their  wisdom,  passed  a  law  which  was 
calculated  in  some  places  to  prohibit,  and  in  some  places  to  restrain  it 
where  it  could  not  be  prohibited,  and  now  these  brewers  are  pledged  to 
have  that  law  repealed  next  winter.  It  seems  to  me  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  Christian  philanthropist  to  go  to  the  polls  and  vote  so  that  it  shall 
not  be  done.     [Applause.] 


64 


-AdJress, By    ReV.    4\elsey    Wal 

^  Former  Licentiate  of  the  Church  at  Aliddletown ,  no7o  in  Philadelphia. 


'"9' 


Mr.  Chairman,  Brethren  and  Friends— I  am  glad  of  the  opportu- 
nity of  being  present  this  evening,  and  of  the  privilege  given  me  of  say- 
ing a  few  words  of  congratulation  to  this  Church  on  having  arrived  at  its 
two  hundredth  birth-day.  I  believe  I  am  the  onlj'  one  now  living  that 
this  Church  has  sent  forth  into  the  ministry.  I  was  baptized  into  the 
fellowship  of  this  Church  April  3d,  1847,  by  the  Rev.  David  B.  Stout, 
who,  as  you  heard  to-day,  was  Pastor  thirty-eight  years,  and  my  Pastor 
for  about  ten  years.  I  was  licensed  by  this  Church  to  preach  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1852,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  in  October,  I  went  to  Madison 
University.  There  are  but  few  here  to-night,  few  who  are  living,  who 
were  members  of  this  Church  at  that  time.  Many  of  the  members  have 
passed  away,  and  among  them  that  sainted  man  of  God,  of  whom  you 
heard  to-da3%  Father  Roberts.  Many  an  encouraging  word  did  he  give 
me  at  that  time.  After  five  years  of  study,  I  was  ordained  to  the  Gospel 
Ministry  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  on  the  28th  of  October,  1857,  and 
became  Pastor  of  the  Grand  Point  Baptist  Church  in  the  seventeenth 
ward  of  that  city.  For  more  than  thirty  years,  therefore,  I  have  been 
trying  to  preach  Christ  in  my  htimble  way,  and  the  Lord  has  given  me 
encouragement  in  my  work  in  five  pastorates  which  I  have  held  during 
those  years,  three  in  this,  my  native  State.  I  trust  I  have  been  mindful 
of  the  providence  of  God  that  has  guided  and  protected  me  to  this  hour, 
and  that  permits  me  to  be  in  this  house  of  God  to-night,  where  so  many 
hallowed  associations  crowd  upon  my  mind.  It  was  here  that  I  was  a 
Sunday-school  scholar,  a  teacher  and,  for  a  short  time,  superintendent.  I 
remember  to-night  the  familiar  faces  of  many  who  were  accustomed  to 
gather  with  God's  people  to  worship  Him  in  this  house  of  prayer.  Many 
of  them  have  passed  away.  Among  those  names  come  Roberts,  WyckofFs, 
Stouts,  Taylors,  and  others  whom  I  might  mention.  Many  of  these  have 
gone  from  their  labor  to  their  reward.  I  remember,  also,  the  great 
awakening  to  which  Dr.  Parnily  referred  to-day.  In  the  winter  of  1850 
and  185 1  there  were  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  baptized  during  that 
great  revival.  I  remember  that  wonderful  work  of  Christ  among  us  in  a 
prayer-meeting  at  one  of  the  out  stations  of  this  Church,  in   Monmouth, 


65 

where  Brother  Wilson  is  now,  a  prayer-meeting  for  two  weeks,  followed 
by  two  weeks  of  preaching  by  Bro.  Stout.  Those  meetings  for  the  two 
weeks  preceding  the  preaching  increased  in  interest  from  evening  to 
evening  until  finally  God  opened  the  windows  of  heaven  and  poured  out 
His  abundant  blessing  in  answer  to  prayers.  As  the  small  cloud  rises 
out  of  the  sea  and  spreads  over  the  whole  earth,  sending  its  refreshing 
showers  upon  the  long-parched  earth,  so,  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
those  men  and  women  of  God,  the  cloud  of  mercy  rose  over  us,  and 
showers  of  blessings  descended,  refreshing  the  drooping  faces  of  God's 
people  and  bringing  many  souls  to  Christ.  Those  meetings  were 
intensely  interesting.  You  have  to-day  heard  the  result  of  them,  and  I 
need  not  refer  to  them  farther,  any  more  than  to  say  that  there  is  a  little 
discrepancy  between  my  figures  and  those  of  Brother  Parmlj'  in  regard 
to  the  baptisms  on  the  occasion.  There  were  eighty-three  baptized  iu 
thirty-three  minutes,  instead  of  thirty-eight  minutes.  I  was  present  at 
that  baptism,  and  I  believe  there  were  five  deacons  of  the  Church  that 
led  those  candidates  into  the  water  to  the  Pastor  and  out  again,  while  he 
remained  at  his  post.  Of  these  five  deacons  there  are  now  but  two  living, 
Thomas  Roberts,  who  has  just  spoken  to  you,  and  Deacon  James  Frost ; 
the  others  have  crossed  the  flood. 

There  was  an  incident  that  occurred  at  those  meetings  that  I  want  to 
refer  to,  to  illustrate  the  importance  of  thoroughly  preparing  for  the 
manifestation  of  God's  power  in  the  conversion  of  souls.  One  evening  a 
Brother  arose  and  said  something  like  this:  "I  feel  that  if  we  want 
God's  blessings  we  must  take  every  stumbling-block  out  of  the  way. 
There  is  present  in  this  congregation  a  person  between  whom  and  mj'self 
unpleasant  feelings  have  arisen  ;  now  (calling  the  person  by  name),  will 
you  meet  me  half  way  and  settle  this  matter  right  here?  "  The  answer 
came  quickly  back,  "  I  will,"  and  the  person  that  spoke  arose  at  the  rear 
end  of  the  house  and  walked  up  the  aisle,  while  the  other  walked  down 
the  aisle  until  they  took  each  other  by  the  hand.  Tears  fell  from  their 
eyes  and  their  bosoms  swelled  as  they  forgave  each  other,  and  all 
unpleasant  feelings  passed  away.  That  act  sent  a  thrill  of  gladness 
through  the  whole  congregation,  and  that  act  was  the  means  under  God 
of  leading  the  man  who  was  asked  the  question  to  Christ  and  into  the 
Church  ;  and  not  only  that,  but  many  others  beheld  in  that  act  the 
royalty  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  said,  "  We  will  go  with  you, 
for  we  believe  that  God  is  with  you,"  and  many  came  out  upon  the  Lord's 


66 

side  That  was  a  precious  season  of  revival,  and  I  remember  it  with  joy 
and  gladness  to-night.  I  will  not  multiply  words,  but  simply  say  that  I 
wish  to  pay  my  humble  tribute  to  the  memory  of  this,  my  mother 
Church.  I  should  be  an  unworthy  son  of  such  a  mother  if  I  were  not 
willing  to  be  here  to-night  and  to  give  a  few  reminiscences,  and  my 
earnest  desire  is  that  heaven's  richest  blessing  may  rest  upon  this  Church 
in  Middletown  in  the  years  that  are  to  come,  as  it  has  in  the  years  that 
have  passed. 


67 
Address,  ....  By   Re\7.    William    H).   Jlires, 

Assistant  to  Pastor  Thomas  Roberts,  and  First  Pastor  of  the  Hohndel 
Baptist  Church. 

Mr.  Preside;nt — It  really  vSeeraed  to  me  when  our  excellent  and 
eloquent  Brother  Yerkes  was  speaking  that  for  me  to  follow  him 
would  be  very  much  like  talking  of  war  in  the  presence  of  Han- 
nibal, or  lighting  a  taper  with  which  to  see  the  sun.  I  felt  if  I  said 
anything  at  all  it  must  be  just  a  few  blunt,  simple  words  with  refer- 
ence to  my  own  experience  as  an  assistant  Pastor  of  this  Church,  and 
the  first  Pastor  of  the  Church  at  Holmdel.  Fifty-three  years  ago,  in 
attending  a  board  meeting  of  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  State  Convention  at 
this  place,  it  was  my  privilege  to  form  some  acquaintance  with  the  Baptist 
congregation  of  Middletown.  At  that  time  they  owned  two  church  prop- 
erties, a  meeting-house  in  this  place,  of  which  this  is  an  enlargement  and 
improvement -decidedly  so  — and  a  meeting-house  and  parsonage  at 
Baptisttown,  now  Holmdel.  Elder  Thomas  Roberts  was  their  worthy 
Pastor,  and  they  were  worthy  of  his  faithful  pastoral  care,  which  they 
had  enjoyed  for  almost  a  dozen  years.  He  was  accustomed  to  preach  in 
the  upper  and  lower  houses  alternately,  and  also  at  other  points  in  the 
township  of  Middletown,  which  was  then  about  twice  as  large  as  it  is 
now,  including,  as  it  did,  the  township  of  Holmdel,  and  he  preached  at 
still  other  points  in  the  county  of  Monmouth,  which  was  then  much 
larger  than  now,  embracing  what  is  now  Ocean  county.  Thus  his  field 
was  a  very  large  one,  the  harvest  was  great,  and  the  laborers  were  few, 
and  it  was  not  surprising  that  both  Church  and  Pastor  felt  that  there  was 
need  of  at  least  one  additional  laborer  ;  but  to  one  it  was  a  genuine  sur- 
prise that  they  selected  the  man  they  did  to  fill  that  place.  That  was  in 
the  winter  of  1835-6,  most  memorable  for  the  great  fire  in  New  York,  and 
for  the  greatest  snow-fall,  in  quantity  and  depth,  that  we  ever  saw,  con- 
tinuing away  on  in  the  month  of  May.  I  say  that  during  that  winter  a 
meeting  of  the  Church,  held  in  the  upper  house,  arranged  to  invite  a 
certain  j^oung  man  to  assist  Pastor  Roberts  for  the  time  being,  until 
arrangements  already  commenced  could  be  perfected  to  organize  a  Church 
at  the  upper  house.  That  call  is  still  extant,  and  is  in  the  hands  of 
Brother  Case,  who  will,  perhaps,  read  it  to  you  as  quickly  as  possible. 

[Letter  read  by  Mr.  Case,  as  follows]  : 


68 

Holm  DEL,  March  9th,  1836. 
Dear  Brother  Hyers — Agreeable  to  arrangement,  the  Baptist  Church  at  Middletown 
convened  in  Church  meeting  in  the  upper  house  this  day,  and  discussed  the  subject  of 
calling  a  Minister  to  take  the  pastoral  care  of  the  flock  in  this  branch  of  Zion.  The 
result  of  our  deliberation  was  a  unanimous  vote  to  call  and  invite  you  to  become  our 
Pastor,  and  Mr.  John  W.  Holmes  and  myself  appointed  a  committee  to  write  to  you. 
We  therefore,  by  the  request  and  in  behalf  of  the  Church  and  congregation,  do  most 
affectionately  invite  you  to  become  our  Pastor,  and  have  the  oversight  of  our  spiritual 
and  eternal  interests.  Our  numbers  are  not  great  here,  but  the  means  are  ample  if  the 
Lord  open  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  we  feel  a  confidence  that  we  shall,  with  the 
aid  and  blessing  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  be  able  to  feed  our  Shepherd,  and  many  have 
already  determined  to  put  the  shoulder  to  the  pecuniary  chariot  and  move  it  forward  to 
the  amount  of  three  hundred  dollars  and  the  use  of  the  glebe  or  parsonage,  and  think 
that  a  support  can  be  provided  for  you.  You  will  please  to  come  or  write  soon,  and  we 
pray  the  Lord  of  Israel  may  bless  both  you  and  us,  and  increase  our  faith  and  our 
members,  and  to  His  name  shall  be  all  the  glory. 

Most  affectionately  yours, 

THOH.  FARDON, 
JOHN  W.  HOLMES. 
To  Bro.  William  D.  Hyers. 

Direct  to  Bro.  John  Taylor,  Holmdel,  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J. 

In  due  time  this  call  was  presented,  accepted,  and  your  humble  servant 
entered  the  Middletown  field  the  first  of  April,  1836,  taking  possession  of 
the  parsonage  and  preaching  in  the  upper  house  and  at  different  neigh- 
borhoods from  three  to  seven  miles  distant.  After  a  lapse  of  five  years,  a 
Church  was  constituted,  of  which  it  was  my  privilege  to  be  Pastor  for  a 
period  of  ten  years.  Before  the  Church  was  organized,  however,  it  was 
my  privilege  to  baptize  some  into  fellowship  of  the  Middletown  Church 
as  the  CO- Pastor  of  Minister  Roberts  ;  one,  I  am  happy  to  say,  is  here 
to-night. 

The  stipend  of  that  call,  j^ou  will  notice,  was  three  hundred  dollars  and 
the  use  of  the  parsonage.  After  the  second  year  it  was  increased  to  four 
hundred  dollars.  Still,  you  say,  that  was  a  very  meagre  salary,  and  so  it 
seems  to  me,  in  view  of  the  salaries  of  the  present  day,  and  especialU'  in 
view  of  what  the  same  Church  is  doing  for  Brother  Case  (but  the\'  are 
probably  doing  no  more  than  he  needs,  no  more  than  they  are  able  to  do)  ; 
nevertheless,  if  you  consider  that  the  cost  of  living  then  was  all  of  one- 
third  less  than  it  is  now,  and  the,  to  me,  memorable  fact  that  the  people 
were  ever  mindful  of  the  welfare  of  their  Pastor— they  did  not  stop  at 


69 

what  they  were  pledged  to  do,  but  were  ever  th  nking  of  their  Pastor,  and 
ever  mindful  of  his  wants,  and  tried  to  make  him  comfortable  and  happy, 
if  possible.  I  bear  them  witness  in  this  presence  to-night,  never,  in  any 
pastorate  that  I  have  occupied,  never,  from  that  day  to  this,  have  I  been 
more  comfortably  and  more  happily  situated  than  I  was  there.  [Applause.] 
Moreover,  we  used  to  preach  to  them  the  Pauline  doctrine,  "  Now  we  live, 
if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord,"  and  by  the  grace  of  God  they  were  enabled 
to  maintain  a  good  degree  of  steadfastness  in  the  Lord,  and  by  that  same 
grace  we  tried  to  live  in  pastoral  work,  and  so  we  continued  to  live, 
unitedly,  harmoniously,  lovingly  and  prosperously  and  happily,  until  the 
failure  of  health  on  the  part  of  the  one  required  a  separation.  During 
the  first  year  of  the  pastorate  of  the  Holmdel  Church,  Elder  Roberts 
voluntarily  resigned  his  charge  of  the  First  Church  of  Middletown  and 
retired  to  the  State  of  New  York.  Brother  D.  B.  Stout,  of  Lambertville, 
was  called  to  succeed  him,  and  he,  like  his  predecessor,  was  a  man  full  of 
faith,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  recall  with  great  pleasure  his  genial 
and  Christ-like  spirit.  I  remember  well  his  plaintive  voice  in  song  and 
in  prayer,  in  pleading  with  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  I  remember 
how  we  labored,  each  with  his  respective  Church,  pleasantly,  delight- 
fully, and  how  we  labored  evangelically  in  all  the  country  round  about, 
for  there  was  then  no  Church  at  Marlboro,  there  was  no  Church  at 
Middletown  Point,  now  Matawan,  there  was  no  Church  at  Ke3^port, 
there  was  no  Church  at  Port  Monmouth,  there  was  no  Church  at  High 
Point,  there  was  no  Church  at  Red  Bank,  Eatontown  and  Long  Branch, 
and  at  many  other  points  in  the  county  of  Monmouth  where  now  there 
are  strong,  live  and  growing  Churches.  So  we  had  a  wide  field  of  labor, 
and  so  we  labored  together,  and  God  blessed  our  efforts.  I  think  of  that 
dear  Brother  now  with  the  sainted  Roberts  and  INIorgan,  whose  monument 
we  unveiled  to-day,  and  many  of  the  Pastors  of  this  Church  and  of  other 
Churches  in  this  county  and  elsewhere.  I  think  I  see  that  dear  Brother 
with  them  and  with  the  prophets  and  apostles  and  the  saints  and  the 
martyrs,  with  all  the  parents  and  children,  all  the  husbands  and  wives, 
all  the  brothers  and  sisters,  and  with  all  who  have  died  in  Jesus  and  are 
blessed.  I  think  of  him  with  that  blood-washed  throng,  celebrating  the 
bi-centennial  of  our  denomination  in  this  State,  at  the  marriage  supper 
of  the  Lamb  in  heaven.  "And  what  a  narrow  sea  divides  that  heavenly- 
land  from  ours  !  "  It  will  not  be  long.  Brethren,  before  we  shall  pass 
over,    one    by   one,    and   we  shall    shine    in    that    heavenly   company. 


70 

Beloved,  it  was  a  great  privilege  to  live  in  those  far-back  days,  and  to 
labor  when  there  was  so  much  simplicity  and  Godly  sincerity;  but  it  is  a 
greater  privilege  to  labor  in  this  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
to  me  it  is  a  great  privilege  that  I  have  been  permitted  to  live  more  than 
three-quarters  of  this  century,  and  to  recall  the  rise  and  progress  of  most 
of  the  great  improvements  that  have  come  during  the  centur}^  such,  for 
instance,  as  the  use  of  steam  for  travel  and  transportation  and  for  manu- 
facturing purposes,  electricity  for  the  transmission  of  news  and  for 
illumination,  and  the  great  improvements  in  implements  to  lighten  and 
save  labor  in  all  the  industrial  pursuits  of  life,  in  the  great  improvement, 
the  multiplication  and  eflSciency  of  schools  and  colleges,  and  books  and 
papers  and  periodicals  and  lectures,  and  all  the  facilities  for  enlighten- 
ment and  education.  I  think  especially  of  the  great  improvement  in  the 
Sunday-school  work,  and  in  the  number  and  efficiency  of  the  Churches 
and  the  Ministry,  and  the  number  and  appointments  of  the  Church  build- 
ings. I  remember  distinctly  when  all  the  Churches  in  New  Jersey  were 
like  angel  visits,  few  and  far  between.  I  remember,  not  more  than  fifty- 
five  years  ago,  at  the  date  of  my  licentiate,  a  liberally  educated  Minister 
in  the  State  of  New  Jersey  was  certainly  an  exception  to  the  rule,  in  fact, 
I  do  not  recall  in  the  State,  fifty-five  years  ago,  more  than  three  or  four 
college  graduates.  My  time  is  up,  I  think,  and  I  shall  speak  no  longer. 
Say  not  why  were  the  former  days  better  than  these,  for  in  this  thou  dost 
not  inquire  wisely,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  former  days  were  not 
better  than  these.  There  is  a  march  of  mind  and  progression  of  the  age, 
and  the  cause  of  our  Emmanuel  is  progressing,  it  is  advancing,  and  I 
rejoice  to-day  in  what  our  eyes  see  and  what  our  ears  hear.  I  feel  proud 
to-day  in  looking  over  this  assemblage  and  seeing  so  many  of  the 
Brethren  well  educated  for  the  work  they  have  to  do,  and  I  thank  God 
that  I  was  permitted  once  more  to  meet  with  them,  and  may  His  benedic- 
tion rest  upon  all. 


71 


Address, By   Res?.   T-    S-    grifpths, 

Pasto)-  at  Hohndel. 

I  want  first  to  express  my  feelings  of  gladness  and  thankfulness  to 
Brother  Parmly  and  Brother  Eaches  for  the  papers  they  have  presented 
to-day.  For  about  twenty  years  I  have  been  delving  among  the  Baptists 
of  New  Jersey,  and  a  little  outside,  and  I  want  to  say  that  you  may  be 
grateful,  and  thankful,  and  congratulate  yourselves,  too,  upon  the  cor- 
rectness, so  far  as  I  am  able  to  know,  of  these  historic  papers.  It  has 
taken  away  from  me  the  necessity  of  my  making  any  allusions  to  items 
of  history  of  which  I  had  thought.  I  am  a  Baptist,  and  this  history 
pleases  me  because  it  is  Baptist  history.  I  am  the  eighth  generation  of 
my  family  that  have  been  ofiicers  in  a  Baptist  Church.  I  don't  know 
how  many  more  of  3'ou  can  say  that;  and  my  son,  who  is  bearing  office 
in  the  Church  of  which  he  is  a  member,  is  the  ninth.  I  do  not  think 
anything  would  hurt  me  more  than  that  either  of  our  children  should  be 
anything  else  than  Baptists,  just  what  I  believe  the  Lord  has  made  them. 
The  tradition  of  our  family  says  they  have  been  Baptists  since  the  Gospel 
was  first  introduced  into  Wales,  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  it  was 
true.  I  would  not  exchange  such  a  record  for  the  best  patrimony  the 
world  can  furnish— take  the  whole  of  it.     [Applause.] 

Years  ago  they  used  to  have  the  yearly  meetings,  of  which  you  have 
heard.  The  yearly  meeting  at  Middletown  was  held  at  the  upper  house, 
and  some  have  asked  why  these  meetings  were  held  there.  In  the  early 
days  there  was  a  kind  of  jealousy  between  Baptisttown  and  the  village 
here.  In  those  early  days  they  had  the  militia  trainings,  and  these  men 
made  arrangements  that  these  yearly  meetings  should  be  held  up  there 
and  the  militia  trainings  in  Middletown;  that  explains  how  it  happened. 
These  old-time  folks  were  wonderfully  interesting  people,  and  we  know  a 
great  many  happy  things  about  them.  It  is  over  forty  years  since  my 
first  settlement  in  Monmouth  county,  and  so  I  have  been  brought  in  con- 
tact with  a  great  many  people.  I  remember  one  day  in  Holmdel  I  was 
out  on  the  street,  and  an  old  gentleman  came  along,  he  was  very  old,  and 
he  asked  me,  "Are  you  the  Pastor  of  the  Church  here?"  "Yes,"  I 
replied,  and  I  inquired  his  age,  and  he  said  he  was  past  eighty  years  of 
age,  and  then  began  to  talk  about  his  conversion  and  the  Church  and 


72 

about  Middletovvn,  this  village,  and  then  spoke  of  his  mother.  He  said, 
"  My  mother  lived  down  between  Middletown  and  Nut  Swamp,  some  four 
or  five  miles  from  the  village,  and  one  Saturday  morning  we  started  at 
very  near  daj'light  to  go  to  Middletown  ("  upper  house  ")  and  attend  the 
great  yearly  meeting.  We  were  going  to  walk.  My  mother  was  a  widow. ' ' 
Think  of  it,  this  widow  walking  some  twenty-four  miles  to  go  to  the  Church 
of  God  with  her  child!  And  he  went  on  to  describe  that  walk  which  led 
him  to  God.  And  on  Sunda}-  morning  he  heard  the  sermon,  and  after 
the  sermon  came  the  baptism,  and  the  tears  began  to  come  down  the  old 
man's  face,  and  said  he,  "  Right  there,  when  I  saw  that  beautiful  baptism 
and  those  people  going  down  into  that  water,  the  spirit  of  God  came 
down  upon  me,  and  from  that  day  to  this  I  have  known  Christ."  And 
then  he  said  he  and  his  mother  walked  back.  Now,  it  gives  you  an  idea 
how  intent  these  people  were,  how  loving  they  were,  and  wh}^  the  present 
stock  is  so  good.     [Applause.] 

And  here  is  another  illustration  of  the  care  God  has  taken  of  this 
Church.  Brother  Stout  succeeded  Brother  Roberts,  and  right  behind  his 
name  was  the  name  of  Mr.  Gobel.  He  was  a  taking  man,  a  popular 
man,  and  you  have  little  idea  how  he  permeated  the  whole  commu- 
nity, save  where  here  and  there  a  Brother  would  stand  up  and  rebel. 
Well,  he  was  right  behind  Mr.  Stout,  and  some  of  the  Brethren  were 
taken  very  much  with  Mr.  Gobel.  When  the  Church  extended  Brother 
Stout  that  unanimous  call,  he  had  another  call — a  unanimous  call — 
from  Salem,  and  the  question  came  up.  What  was  he  to  do,  go  to  Salem 
or  to  Middletown  ?  Had  he  gone  to  Salem,  Mr.  Gobel  would  have 
come  here.  How  many  are  there  here  to-night  who  do  not  feel  sure 
of  what  the  outcome  would  have  been  ?  How  many  of  you  know  about 
Jacksonville  ?  He  became  Pastor  there,  but  it  is  as  silent  as  the  grave,  a 
house  as  large  as  this,  and  a  congregation  that  on  Sabbath  morning 
usually  filled  it  as  this  congregation  fills  this  house.  Brother  Stout  went 
in  there  one  day  as  we  were  driving  by,  and  looked  about  the  spacious 
house  and  said,  "  Brother  Roberts  preached  the  opening  sermon,  and  the 
house  was  packed,  but,  oh,  how  long  it  is  since  the  voice  of  the  living 
Preacher  has  been  heard  here!"  I  don't  know,  but  it  is  dead.  And, 
Brethren,  we  had  not  been  here  to-night  if  that  man  had  come  here.  I 
have  no  manner  of  doubt  that  this  house  would  have  been  as  silent  as 
the  grave  had  he  come  here,  but  God  came  to  Brother  Stout,  turned  him 
here,  and  here  he  has  been  the  instrument  of  that  great  work.     And  I 


Rev.   Davio  B.   Stout, 

3b  years  I'astor  of  the  Middletowu  Baptist  Church. 


73 

want  to  relate  a  pleasant  incident  of  Brother  Stotit.  You  would  not  think 
him  a  very  humorous  man,  but  he  had  a  great  deal  of  humor  in  him. 
One  day  at  a  Board  meeting  in  Camden  a  certain  Brother,  advanced  in 
years,  but  whose  locks  were  as  black  as  the  raven,  and  presented  all  the 
appearance  of  youth  that  were  possible,  w^as  making  a  speech,  a  very 
earnest  speech,  and  said,  among  other  things,  "Why,  Brethren,  I  am  a 
Baptist  dyed  in  the  wool."  Brother  Stout  leaned  over  to  me  and 
whispered  to  me,  "  Brother  GriflQth,  don't  he  mean  a  wool-d3'ed  Baptist  ?  " 
These  were  good  men,  and  I  have  a  great  deal  to  say  about  them,  but  the 
time  has  elapsed. 


74 

■Address, By   ReV.    W-    W-    S-ose, 

The  Present  Pastor  ot  HoliUitel. 

]\Ir.  Chairman,  Brethren  and  Sisters — I  do  not  intend  to  occupy 
five  of  the  ten  minutes  allotted  to  me,  in  order  that  an  opportunity  may 
be  given  others  to  speak. 

Reference  has  been  made  here  to-night  to  the  letter  I  was  permitted  to 
read.  A  few  weeks  ago  a  Brother  died  in  the  membership  of  the  Holm- 
del  Church  Henry  GifFord — who  told  me  that  he  was  present  at  the 
meeting  when  Brother  Hires  was  called.  Father  Roberts  presided,  and 
urged  the  Brethren  of  the  Church  to  invite  some  one  to  assist  him 
because  of  the  great  amount  of  work  to  be  done.  He  urged  the  people 
to  separate  into  two  bands,  and  offered  to  give  thirty  dollars  out  of  his 
own  pocket  to  support  the  man  who  should  be  called. 

A  number  of  the  jNIiddletown  Pastors  have  lived  at  Holmdel.  Samuel 
Morgan,  the  successor  of  Abel  Morgan,  lived  in  the  first  parsonage. 
Elliott,  King  and  Roberts  lived  in  the  second  parsonage,  which  was  torn 
down  in  1882  to  make  room  for  the  present  commodious  edifice.*  So  we 
feel  that  the  statement  that  has  been  made  this  afternoon,  that  the  history 
of  the  upper  (Holmdel)  congregation  runs  parallel  with  that  of  the  lower 
(Middletown)  congregation,  is  true. 

It  was  in  the  bounds  of  the  upper  congregation  that  the  first  Baptist 
Sabbath-school  in  this  State  was  established,  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Ann  B. 
Taylor,  about  two  miles  from  Holmdel,  in  the  3'ear  1816.  In  the  year 
18 1 8  it  was  transferred  to  the  Church  edifice,  where  it  has  since  remained. 
The  Holmdel  Church  has  always  taken  a  strong  position  on  the  subject 
of  Temperance.  It  has  also  taken  a  strong  position  with  regard  to  Mis- 
sions, and  the  contributions  of  that  Church  will  compare  favorably  with 
those  of  any  other  rural  Church  of  the  same  size  in  the  State  of  New 
Jersey.  It  has  also  always  taken  a  strong  position  on  the  question  of 
Christian  education,  and  many  families  have  liberally  patronized  our  own 
institutions  of  learning,  and  contributed  largely  to  these  institutions, 
especially  Peddie  Institute.     Only  a  few  weeks  ago  two  of  the  members 


♦Benjamin  Bennett,  who  was  Pastor  twenty-three  years,  and  at  one  time  a  member  of  Congress,  is 
buried  back  of  the  Holmdel  Church  edifice. 


75 

of  that  congregation  paid  $10,000  into  the  hands  of  William  V.  Wilson, 
Treasurer  of  Peddie  Institute,  to  establish  a  library  building  at  Peddie 
Institute.  They  are  very  modest  people,  but  others  will  call  this  building 
the  Longstreet  Library  Hall.     [Applause.]* 

The  Holmdel  Church  has  never  been  afflicted  with  any  views  of  new 
theology,  or  with  false  views  of  the  nature  of  the  Church  and  its  ordi- 
nances. The  good  old  doctrine  that  was  preached  there  more  than  two 
hundred  years  ago  is  still  vigorously  maintained.  [Applause.]  We  join 
with  you  in  this  Bi-Centennial  with  great  delight,  and  we  hope  that  those 
who  meet  two  hundred  years  hence  to  celebrate  may  see  at  that  time  a 
mighty  advance  of  the  principles  we  so  truly  love.     [Applause.] 


*  The  road  between  Holmdel  and  Middletown  has  been  trodden  by  the  feet  of  Baptist  evangelists 
earlier  than  any  other  road  in  the  State. 


76 


Address, By    ReV.    3.    JM.    &rpenler, 

(  The  Oldest  Baptist  Aiinister  in  A^ezu  yersey.) 

[The  Rev.  O.  P.  Eaches  yielded  his  time  and  place  to  Brother  Carpenter,  in  view  of  Brother 
Eaches'  address  in  the  afternoon.] 

When  Zelotes  Grinnell  was  a  child  he  was  one  of  a  large  family  of 
brothers,  living  in  Delaware  county,  New  York  State,  and  one  evening 
in  the  winter-time  his  father  sent  several  of  them  out  to  bring  in  wood 
for  the  open  fire-place.  He  was  a  little  fellow,  but  he  went  out  with  the 
rest.  They  all  shouldered  their  wood—strong  boys  they  were — and  went 
in,  and  Zelotes,  my  Pastor,  said  to  me  :  "  I  went  in  without  anything,  and 
when  I  came  into  the  house  my  father  said,  '  My  son,  how  is  it  you  have 
come  in  without  any  wood  ?  '  '  Well,  father,  I  could  not  find  an}- thing  I 
could  carry.'  '  Well,'  said  the  old  man,  '  were  there  not  any  chips  in  the 
yard?'"  He  related  that  incident  to  me  as  an  inducement  to  inculcate 
in  the  minds  of  young  men  the  habit  of  trying  to  do  something,  no  mat- 
ter how  small,  in  the  cause  of  the  Master.  I  have  been  gathering  up 
chips  while  I  have  been  listening  to  the  Brethren.  I  feel.  Brethren,  that 
we  are  on  historic  ground  to-night.  We  have  assembled  here  on  this 
occasion  for  a  three-fold  purpose  ;  first,  to  celebrate  the  Bi-Centennial  of 
the  Church  of  Middletown,  its  two  hundredth  anniversary  ;  secondlj',  the 
unveiling  of  the  monument  to  Abel  Morgan,  and,  third,  to  attend  to  the 
business  of  the  fifty-ninth  anniversary  of  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  Aid 
Convention.  These  are  three  objects  for  which  we  have  gathered  here 
on  this  occasion. 

In  regard  to  the  first  of  these,  I  will  touch  upon  Abel  Morgan.  When 
he  was  born,  in  April,  1713,  there  were  but  four  Baptist  Churches  in  the 
State  of  New  Jersey.  Cape  May  Court  House  had  been  organized  a  3-ear 
prior  to  his  birth.  When  he  was  two  years  old  the  fifth  Church  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  was  organized.  That  was  the  old  Hopewell  Church, 
in  1 715.  Those  were  the  only  Churches  in  existence  in  the  State  of  New 
Jersey  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  The  old  Kingwood  Church  was 
organized  about  four  years  after  he  came  into  the  State,  in  1742.  The 
Middletown  Church  followed  in  1745,  and  its  constituenc3'  went  from  this 
Church,  the  first.  I  believe,  that  this  Church  sent  out.  Time  rolled  on, 
and  in  1785,  on  the  24th  of  November,  I  believe,  Abel   Morgan  went  to 


77 

his  reward.  When  he  died  there  were  twenty-two  Baptist  Churches  in 
this  State.  The  last  of  the  twenty-two  was  organized  just  five  days 
before  his  death— Jacobstown,  organized  the  19th  of  November,  1785. 
Abel  Morgan  was  a  wonderful  man.  You  have  heard  a  great  deal  about 
him,  and  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  repeat  anything  in  reference  to  his 
general  history.  He  left  his  impress  upon  the  Baptist  element  of  New 
Jersey,  which  is  what  every  Baptist  ought  to  do.  We  should  leave  our 
impress  upon  those  who  are  coming  after.  We  have  made  progress.  I 
came  into  this  State  fifty-two  years  ago  this  fall,  upon  the  anniversary  of 
this  convention  in  1836,  in  Plainfield.  I  received  a  welcome,  although  an 
entire  stranger.  But  four  Ministers  in  the  State  had  ever  seen  me,  and  I 
went  to  Plainfield  without  any  expectation  of  entering  into  the  service 
of  the  convention.  While  I  was  looking  around  Plainfield,  being  a 
stranger  in  the  place,  the  Pastor  of  the  Church  (Brother  Hill)  came  to  me 
and  said,  "  They  want  you  at  the  Board  meeting."  I  said,  "  What  do 
they  want?"  and  said  he,  "Go  and  see."  So  I  went.  Father  Dodge 
was  then  the  Pastor  of  the  only  Baptist  Church  in  Newark,  was  the 
President  of  the  Board.  After  my  introduction.  Father  Dodge  said  to 
me,  ' '  The  Board  have  concluded  to  give  you  an  appointment  for  six 
months  at  Schooley's  Mountain,  if  you  are  willing  to  accept  it."  It  took 
me  by  surprise,  and  I  sat  a  few  minutes  and  reflected  upon  the  magnitude 
of  the  calling  to  which  they  had  appointed  me  to  enter  in  the  service  of 
the  Board,  and  finally  I  rose  and  said  to  them,  "  Brethren,  you  are  all 
strangers  to  me,  and  I  am  a  stranger  to  you  ;  if  you  have  sufiicient  confi- 
dence in  me  to  give  me  this  appointment,  I  will  go."  From  that  time  I 
have  been  in  the  service  of  the  Board  in  some  capacity  for  fifty-two  years. 
First  a  Missionary,  then  a  member  of  the  Board,  then  its  Secretary  for 
seventeen  years,  and  then  a  traveling  Missionary  and  general  agent  to 
collect  funds,  until  I  have  reached  where  I  am.  I  am  rejoiced  to  meet 
you  to-night,  but  I  feel  saddened  when  I  think  of  those  that  are  gone. 
Harrison,  Hopkins,  Rogers,  Dodge,  Grinnell,  and  a  number  of  others 
have  passed  away.  Of  the  ordained  Ministers  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
when  I  came  here  in  1836,  there  are  but  three  living.  One  of  those  is 
here  to-night,  and  has  spoken  to  you,  another  is  Brother  T.  C.  Truesdell, 
and  the  other  is  Charles  C.  Park,  now  living  in  Ohio.  All  three,  I 
believe,  are  my  juniors  slightly.  Thus  we  are  passing  awa3^  The  ques- 
tion often  arises,  "  Our  fathers,  where  are  they  ?  "  One  generation  passes 
and  another  comes.     But  God  our  Father,  Jesus  our  Redeemer,  has  been 


78 

preaching  His  ministry  from  the  day  of  His  ascension  until  the  present 
time,  and  when  one  generation  of  Ministers  passes  away  another  genera- 
tion takes  its  place. 

One  more  thought  in  closing,  for  I  need  not  detain  you  further,  and 
that  is,  Brethren,  we  live  to  make  our  impress,  and  that  is  in  perfect 
keeping  wuth  the  order  of  the  Saviour,  who  lived  in  part  to  make  an 
impression  of  Himself  upon  the  minds  of  His  disciples.  If  you  read  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament  through,  you  will  find  that  one  great 
object  of  the  divine  calling  was  that  one  generation  should  leave  its 
impression  upon  the  one  that  followed  it.  What  impress  are  we  leaving  ? 
We  know  something  about  that  which  our  fathers  have  left  upon  us,  and 
upon  the  communities  in  which  they  have  lived.  I  am  reminded  of  an 
incident  related  in  Bridgeton  a  few  years  ago,  when  I  was  traveling  for 
the  convention.  I  made  my  headquarters  at  the  house  of  a  man  whose 
primary  object  in  life  was  to  make  money.  One  evening  as  he  came  in  I 
said  to  him,  "  You  have  had  a  day  of  fatiguing  labor  to-day  ?  "  "  Yes," 
said  he,  "I  have  had."  "Well,"  said  I,  "don't  some  of  the  men  that 
you  trust  with  your  money  go  back  on  you  ?  "  "  No,"  said  he,  '"  I  never 
had  a  man  go  back  on  me  in  my  life."  "  How's  that  ;  in  your  line  of 
business  men  generally  complain  more  or  less  of  losing  money  by  the 
men  whom  they  trust  ?  "  "I  will  tell  you,"  said  he,  "  You  know  up  at 
Cohansey  Henry  Small  labored  for  forty-nine  years,  and  ministered  to 
the  Baptist  Church  there?"  "Yes;  what  of  that?"  "And  at  Fair- 
town,"  said  he,  "  four  miles  below,  on  the  way  to  Cedarville,  there  was  a 
Presbyterian  Minister  by  the  name  of  Ethan  Osborne  ;  he  was  Pastor  there 
for  sixty  years.  Now,  when  a  man  comes  to  me  on  business,  and  I  know 
he  has  been  under  the  ministry  of  Henry  Small  or  Ethan  Osborne,  I  know 
I  am  safe."  [Applause.]  Thus  you  see,  my  Brethren,  the  impress 
which  the  faithful  Minister  leaves  upon  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 
Oh,  that  we,  as  Ministers,  could  carry  about  with  us  wherever  we  go 
these  evidences  of  our  divine  calling,  of  the  sacredness  of  that  calling, 
and  of  the  responsibilities  of  that  calling  in  the  communities  in  which 
we  live,  and  the  influence  which  we  exert  on  those  around  us,  so  as  to 
leave  a  favorable  impress  upon  the  public  mind,  how  much  more  good 
would  we  do  than  we  are  doing  at  present. 


79 


^^Jdress, gy   Re\?.   S.  A    ^nowlton, 

Pastor  of  Upper  Freehold. 

Middletown  Church  is  the  mother  of  several  Churches,  one  of  which  is 
the  Upper  Freehold  Church.  Perhaps,  two  or  three  hundred  years  hence, 
unsagacious  historians  may  arise  and,  with  wonderful  sagacity,  having 
found  documents  that  have  lain  hid  or  a  key  to  those  still  extant,  prove 
that  the  Middletown  Church  and  all  her  daughters  were  due  to  William 
Penn — the  first  leader  that  came  over  from  Amsterdam.  At  any  rate,  one 
thing  is  certain  :  the  old  Middletown  Church  has  never  refused  to  own 
her  daughters,  and  the  daughters  have  never  refused  to  own  their  mother. 
I  understand  that  in  the  last  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth,  there  was  preaching  in  that  section  where 
our  Church  is  situated  ;  but  for  fifty  years  it  was  simply  a  preaching 
station.  In  the  year  1766  there  were  a  sufiicient  number  of  Baptists  there 
to  form  a  Church.  The  first  Pastor  was  the  Rev.  David  Jones,  and,  as 
you  have  heard  to-day,  he  remained  with  that  Church  about  nine  years. 
From  1775  to  1S22  there  were  seven  different  Pastors.  The  j-ear  1822  was 
the  beginning  of  a  new  era  for  that  Church.  A  timid  young  man,  who 
had  been  to  Princeton  only  for  a  few  days,  reflecting  that  during  his 
course  of  study  scores  might  be  lost,  came,  providentiallj^,  as  he  thought, 
and  preached  at  Upper  Freehold.  After  candidating,  which  is  a  sort  of 
Barnum's  museum  with  a  scriptural  text  and  a  live  lion  on  exhibition, 
he  was  called  to  the  pastorate.  The  Church  stipulated  to  give  him  one 
hundred  dollars  for  his  stipend  for  the  first  year  ;  but  as  all  stocks  and 
promises  are  fluctuating,  the  hundred  dollars  became  fifty.  The  Pastor 
thought  it  impossible  to  live  on  such  a  meagre  salary,  and  went  to  Salem 
and  invited  a  young  XoAy  to  help  him  do  the  impossible.  [Laughter.] 
They  lived  happily  and  comfortable  on  fifty  dollars  a  j^ear. 

On  a  certain  occasion,  while  preaching  at  a  place  called  Cream  Ridge, 
as  was  the  Pastor's  custom,  he  announced  his  text  in  accordance  with  the 
times  and  season.  He  took  for  his  text,  and  announced  to  the  people, 
"  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe."  One  man  away  back  in 
the  "  amen  corner  "  cried  out :  "  Dominie,  the  harvest  is  past  on  this  side 
of  the  ridge."  Every  square  inch  of  wind  was  taken  out  of  the  Pastor's 
sails  for  a  few  seconds,  but,  recovering  himself,  he  said  :  "  Your  harvest 


8o 

may  be  passed,  but  God's  harvest  is  not  passed  until  all  His  wheat  is 
gathered  into  His  garners,  and  the  chaff  is  burned  with  unquenchable 
fire." 

In  those  days  it  was  the  custom,  you  understand,  for  the  people  to  come 
in  wagons,  and  to  use  their  chairs  as  seats  in  the  school-house  or  house 
where  they  worshipped.  On  one  occasion  a  newly-married  man  came  in. 
He  had  left  his  coat  at  home  during  the  warm  weather,  but  he  took  his 
seats  out  of  the  wagon,  and  gave  one  to  an  old  man  and  sat  down  in  the 
other.  The  preacher  arose  and  announced  his  text :  "  Friend,  how  camest 
thou  here,  not  having  a  wedding  garment?"  The  newly-married  man 
looked  around  and  saw  that  there  was  not  a  single  person  in  the  congre- 
gation without  a  coat  except  himself,  and  jumping  up  he  grabbed  the  old 
man,  and  clutching  his  chair  said  :  "  Give  me  my  chair  ;  he  means  me  !" 
And  the  last  seen  of  that  man  on  that  day  he  was  riding  down  the  road, 
his  two  chairs  keeping  tune  to  his  wagon. 

That  Pastor  remained  there  some  sixteen  years.  He  enjoyed  a  constant 
revival  for  nine  years,  and  baptized  during  his  stay  over  three  hundred 
persons.  He  remained  with  that  Church  and  in  that  section  of  the 
country  for  sixteen  3'ears,  coming  with  all  his  earthly  goods  packed  in  a 
small  chest,  and  went  away  with  fifteen  Pennsylvania  wagon  loads  of 
goods,  four  children  and  one  wife.     [Laughter.] 

I  might  mention  some  of  the  other  Pastors  that  have  been  there,  but 
will  simply  refer  to  one  or  two.  A  newly-fledged  theological  student 
came,  and  he  used  to  take  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes  in  expounding  Greek 
texts  and  a  better  rendering  of  King  James,  and  finally,  as  one  man 
expressed  it,  he  used  to  bring  out  all  the  Greek  roots  from  Homer  down 
to  the  Apocalypse.  This  rooting  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord  became  terribly 
monotonous,  and  he  received  his  walking  ticket.  [Laughter.]  There 
are  three  Churches,  I  think,  gone  out  from  Upper  Freehold  — Jacobstown, 
Bordentown  and  Freehold.  There  have  been  several  revivals,  the  largest 
being  in  the  ministration  of  William  D.  Hires,  from  whom  you  have 
heard  this  evening.  I  have  been  in  New  Jersey  but  little  over  a  year,  but 
I  must  say  to  you  I  have  found  the  Baptist  cause  progressing.  I  have 
found  warm  hearts  and  excellent  people,  and  I  have  begun  to  think  that 
the  Baptist  cause  in  New  Jersey  can  be  compared  favorably  with  any 
section  of  this  country. 

I  have  begun  to  think  that  the  Baptist  denomination  is  a  great  order, 
especially  in  this  country,  separating  those  rivers  which  flow  northward 


8i 

into  the  frozen  region  of  Unitarianism  from  those  which  flow  southward 
into  the  malarial  district  of  the  New  Theology.  I  have  begun  to  think 
that  the  Baptist  denomination  is  the  Nile  of  North  America  ;  as  the  Nile, 
by  its  annual  inundation,  leaves  its  deposits  upon  the  fertile  valley  of 
Egypt,  so,  now  and  then,  the  Baptist  denomination  has  left  its  sediment- 
ary deposit  in  the  other  and  lesser  denominations.  If  there  is  any  good 
held  in  solution  by  the  Baptist  denomination,  the  quicker  it  is  deposited 
the  better. 

One  thing  I  can  say  in  behalf  of  the  Upper  Freehold  Church  :  during 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years  it  has  never  been  affected;  it  has  proven 
true  and  sound  in  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  If  I  can  con- 
jecture anything  for  the  next  one  hundred  and  twenty  years,  it  will 
remain  as  sound  as  it  has  been  during  the  past  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
[Applause.] 


82 


Address, By   ReV.    $.    K    @ 


e)Cter, 


Pas/or  at  Keyport. 


I  presume  bj'  this  time  we  are  beginning  to  feel  quite  rested.  [Laugh- 
ter.] We  certainly  have  a  grand  illustration  to-night  of  the  patience  and 
perseverance  of  men.  It  is  said  that  the  mind  of  man  is  like  a  jug,  it  can 
hold  only  so  much,  but  I  sometimes  think  that  it  is  best  represented  b}- 
a  rubber  jug.  [Laughter.]  Unfortunately  forme,  I  cannot  dwell  upon  any 
very  touching  or  inspiring  reminiscences,  because  my  memory  goeth  not 
back  to  those  ancient  days  ;  but,  iu  anticipation  of  this  service,  I  have 
been  led  to  look  at  the  record  of  our  Church,  and  I  therein  find  that  on 
August  the  5th,  1840,  a  council  was  convened  on  the  banks  of  the  bay  in 
Keyport  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  certain  number  of  believers  into  a 
Baptist  Church.  The  Moderator  of  that  council  was  David  B.  Stout,  and 
the  clerk  W.  D.  Hires.  Samuel  Sproul  presented  the  object  for  which  the 
council  was  convened,  the  doctrines  held,  confession  of  faith,  and  then  a 
number  of  letters  were  presented,  the  majority  of  them  by  members  of 
the  Middletown  Church.  Of  these  nearly  all  have  passed  away  ;  but  two 
or  three  remain.  After  listening  to  this  statement  and  these  letters,  it 
was  voted  that  they  approve  of  their  organization  into  what  was  to  be 
known  as  the  Third  Church  of  Middletown.  That  Church  is  now  known 
as  the  Keyport  Baptist  Church,  and  I  come  here  to-night  to  bring  the 
greetings  of  that  Church  to  the  members  of  this.  After  listening  to  the 
masterly  address  of  our  Brother,  I  feel  that  it  is  a  high  honor  that  has 
been  conferred  upon  me,  that  I  am  permitted  to  stand  here  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  congratulate  this  Church  on 
the  gracious  providence  that  has  marked  her  past  history — that  to-day  she 
is  in  existence  among  the  Churches  of  Jesus  Christ  with  an  honorable  and 
worthy  name.  I  congratulate  this  Church  for  all  the  good  that  has  been 
accomplished,  and  on  the  number  of  Churches  that  have  gone  out  from 
her.  I  congratulate  ourselves,  as  members  of  the  Church  in  Kej'port, 
that  we,  as  one  of  the  children  of  this  Church,  are  permitted  to  be  here 
to-night,  and  to  enjoy  with  you,  not  only  to-night  but  throughout  the 
day,  this  grand  occasion.  This  is  peculiarlj^  fitting  on  our  part.  You 
will  readily  see,  from  the  dates  I  have  given  you,  that  the  Kej'port  Bap- 
tist Church  is  very  near  its  semi-centennial.  Would  time  permit,  I  might 


83 

cite  some  material  facts  that  would  be  gratifying  to  the  Mother  Church. 
I  might  dwell  upon  the  grand  influence  the  Keyport  Church  has  had 
upon  the  community  in  which  it  is  placed,  in  a  material  way  ;  the  influ- 
ence outside,  in  all  the  educational  movements  that  are  correcting  and 
purifying  the  intellectual  tone  and  status  of  the  people  ;  the  influence  it 
has  had  in  a  moral  way,  and  perfecting  the  social  relations  of  life,  and, 
most  of  all,  I  might  dwell  upon  the  spiritual  work  that  that  Church  has 
wrought,  the  number  of  souls  that  have  been  saved,  the  spirit  of  gener- 
osity that  has  been  developed,  the  grand  record  that  Church  has  achieved 
in  helping  forward  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth,  so  that  this,  our 
Mother  Church,  might  look  with  pride  and  gratulation  on  what  her  child, 
under  God,  has  wrought. 

On  August  5th,  1890,  we  will  celebrate  our  semi-centennial,  and  then 
we  hope  to  have  realized  some  of  the  desires  of  our  hearts,  in  having  a 
new  organ  in  the  house,  in  having  the  edifice  changed  and  everything  put 
in  proper  condition — then  we  hope,  as  we  start  out  to  complete  our  two 
hundred  years  of  history,  that  we  shall  be  so  blessed  of  God  in  the  coming 
3^ears  of  our  existence,  that  we  may  present  to  the  world  even  a  grander 
record  than  3'ou,  our  INIotlier,  can  present  to-da}'.  Meanwhile,  ma}'  we 
not  hope  that  ties  that  were  formed  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  and  were  then 
so  close  and  fraternal,  will  continue  to  be  so  between  mother  and  daugh- 
ter in  the  years  to  come  ;  that  our  interest  in  each  other  shall  be  cordial, 
fervent  and  helpful,  that  we  shall  pra}^  for  one  another,  and  unitedly  labor 
for  the  glory  of  Him  whose  name  we  bear,  whose  we  are  and  whom  we 
serve. 


84 


'^Address, By    ReV.    3.    4\.    JManning, 

Pastor  at  Red  Bank. 

Mr.  President— I  am  not  going  to  give  3-011  very  many  reminiscences 
or  make  a  long  speech.  I  am  very  glad  to  be  able  to  stand  here  to-night 
and  tender  my  congratulations  to  this  people.  I  am  thankful  that  I  have 
been  permitted  to  be  a  Pastor  of  two  of  the  daughters  who  have  gone 
out  from  this  Church,  and  I  am  very  glad  that  these  services  have  taken 
the  form  they  have  taken.  As  nobod}-,  possibly,  will  say  it  for  me,  I  will 
say  that  I  had  a  big  hand  in  this  thing. 

I  want  to  congratulate  this  Church  upon  its  prosperity.  She  has  better 
clothes  to-day  than  some  of  her  children.  Just  compare  this  house  of 
worship  with  some  other  houses  of  worship  I  might  refer  to,  and  go 
down  and  see  where  Brother  Jones  lives,  and  look  at  the  places  where 
vSome  other  of  the  Pastors  about  here  live,  and  in  every  direction  I  want 
to  congratulate  this  people  upon  their  conveniences  of  life  and  activity, 
and  upon  their  prosperity.  And  there  is  another  thing  I  want  to  refer  to. 
I  do  not  call  to  mind  where  there  is  another  Baptist  Church  which  has 
set  about  and  accomplished  so  grandly  a  celebration  of  this  kind,  and  I 
am  glad,  for  the  sake  of  the  Baptists,  that  it  has  been  accomplished.  If 
Abel  Morgan  had  been  a  Methodist,  in  nearly  every  Church  in  this  com- 
munity there  would  have  been  a  memorial  tablet  or  colored  glass  window  ; 
or  if  he  had  belonged  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  it  would  have  been  the 
same,  but,  because  he  was  a  Baptist,  he  had  to  wait  one  hundred  and 
three  years  before  we  saw  the  necessity  that  there  should  be  a  monument 
erected  to  his  memory.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  regard  this  time  as 
one  of  the  greatest  I  can  call  to  mind.  This  afternoon  there  was  a  beau- 
tiful and  touching  scene  presented.  Here  was  this  grand  man  who  had 
gone  one  hundred  and  three  5'ears  without  a  monument ;  but  3-ou  selected 
for  the  orator  of  the  occasion  a  man  who  has  built  his  own  monument, 
for  as  long  as  Peddie  Institute  shall  stand,  William  V.  Wilson  will  have 
a  pile  of  bricks  erected  to  his  memor3^ 

Now  and  then  I  get  a  little  weary  and  faint  of  heart,  because  I  feel  that 
the  young  men  in  our  Churches  are  not  like  their  fathers— not  as  strong, 
perhaps  -but  while  we  are  here  to  revere  the  memory  of  Abel  Morgan,  I 
say  it  with  reverence  and  with  thankfulness  that  there  are  just  as  grand 


85 

men  here  to-night  as  there  were  in  his  day,  and  I  regard  it  as  one  of  the 
greatest  of  privileges  to  be  identified  with  the  men  whose  names  have 
been  mentioned  here,  living  and  dead,  and  being  part  and  parcel  of  the 
great  Baptist  Church,  and  while  I  congratulate  the  Brethren  here,  I  see 
no  reason  why  this  Church  should  not  go  on  increasing  in  strength  and 
prosperity  and  power. 


86 

•Address, By   Rev'.    3.    ^.    Boyes, 

Pastor  at  Navesink  and  Atlantic  Highlands  Churches. 

I  shall  certainly  not  detain  you  long,  as  I  have  but  recently  come  into 
the  State  of  New  Jerse}-,  and  during  that  time  have  been  seriously  ill, 
which  has  prevented  my  looking  up  the  matter,  as  I  certainly  should 
have  otherwise  done. 

I  will  briefly  present  a  few  facts.  The  Navesink  Church  was  a  Mission- 
ary station  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Roberts'  twenty-two  years  ago — that 
venerable  man  of  whom  you  have  heard  so  much  to-night  ;  he  was  form- 
ing these  outposts  around  this  place,  and  he  there  began  to  proclaim  the 
truth,  in  the  school-house  and  in  any  other  place  he  could  get.  High 
Churchism  and  Antinomianism  strongly  prevailed  at  that  time  in  that 
place,  but,  feeling  the  importance  of  the  commission,  and  alive  for  the 
souls  that  he  saw  perishing,  he  was  not  at  all  shaken  in  the  effort,  and, 
hence,  prevailed  strongly  in  this  place.  Intemperance  was  also  rampant. 
We  have  heard  to-night  a  temperance  society  was  organized  here,  but  the 
first  temperance  society,  so  far  as  I  know,  was  formed  over  there,  and 
called  the  High  Point  Temperance  Society.  After  awhile  Father  Roberts 
resigned,  and  the  Rev.  D.  B.  Stout  became  Pastor  of  this  Church. 
Brother  R.  A.  Leonard,  a  former  member  of  this  Church,  and  a  very 
active  member,  one  whose  name  will  no  doubt  bring  up  to  many  of  you 
his  life  and  association,  joined  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stout  in  proclaiming 
the  truth  in  what  was  then  known  as  Riceville.  Thej^  held  meetings  at 
that  time  in  the  woods  or  in  any  place  they  could  get,  and  the  result  was 
they  presented  the  glorious  truth  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  power  of 
God  many  were  convicted  of  sin  and  of  judgment  and  became  converted 
to  this  faith.  This  resulted  in  a  permanent  service  being  held  in  what 
was  then  called  Riceville,  held  in  the  public  school-house  afternoons  in 
the  summer-time,  and  evenings  in  the  winter.  After  awhile  the  school- 
house  became  too  small  to  hold  the  congregation  that  gathered  there  to 
hear  the  Gospel  as  it  fell  from  the  lips  of  Brother  Stout,  and  they  con- 
cluded to  erect  a  Church  edifice.  So  far  as  I  understand  it,  this  was 
erected  as  a  Missionary  outpost,  with  no  organization  as  yet,  but  simply 
a  Chapel  where  they  could  get  more  fully  and  effectually  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.     After  holding  these  meetings  for  some  time  in 


87 

this  place,  on  account  of  the  distance  from  this  Church  and  the  seeming 
needs  of  the  community,  it  was  decided  to  organize  a  Church,  and  steps 
were  taken  in  the  year  1S53  for  this  purpose,  and  they  organized  what 
was  called  the  Second  Middletown  Church.  I  have  heard  that  name 
mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Holmdel  Church,  but  the  Church  was 
organized  in  Riceville  and  called  the  Second  Middletown  Church,  having 
fifty-five  members,  and  if  I  should  read  over  their  names,  how  many 
reminiscences  would  it  bring  to  many  here  !  It  was  a  strong  Church, 
although  it  had  but  fifty-five  members.  There  have  been  many  Pastors! 
but  the  first  after  its  organization  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  this  man 
who  has  been  so  feelingly  referred  to,  and  is  so  worthy  of  our  grateful 
appreciation.  He  was  Pastor  of  this  Church  for  one  year,  after  which 
Father  Roberts,  the  venerable  Father  Roberts,  staunch  Baptist  Preacher 
that  he  was,  whose  life  and  work  plays  such  an  important  part  in  the 
history  of  this  Church.  He  labored  there  for  four  years,  and  during  that 
time  twenty-four  were  united  with  the  Church.  Following  him  was  the 
Rev.  E.  D.  Fron  ;  following  him  the  Rev.  M.  B.  Harris,  1862  to  1867  ; 
following  him  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Baker,  then  Charles  T.  Douglass,  then  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Lee,  and  now  lately  your  humble  servant,  who  feels  very  much 
impressed  with  the  work.  There  are  about  two  hundred  members  of  this 
Church  at  this  time,  and  we  devoutly  worship  God,  and  endeavor  to  pro- 
claim the  truth  so  dear  to  us  all. 


88 


•Address,  ....  By   ReV.    William    V-    Wilson, 

Pastor  of  A^ezv  Monmouth   Church. 

Friends  and  Brethren — It  seems  to  fall  to  in}-  lot  to  bring  up  the  rear. 
I  think  I  must  have  been  born  out  of  due  time.  [Laughter.]  It  is  per- 
haps appropriate  that  I  should  make  a  few  remarks,  although  I  very  much 
regret  that  I  am  called  upon  to  do  so  at  so  late  an  hour.  I  have  had  rela- 
tions with  this  Church  that  perhaps  no  other  Brother  has.  I  have  mar- 
ried three  of  her  daughters — I  was  going  to  say  the  first  husband  of  two 
and  the  onlj'  husband  of  one.  I  was  ordained  in  this  Church,  and  there 
have  been  times  when  it  looked  a  little  as  though  I  should  form  a  marriage 
connection  with  her.  [Laughter.]  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  exceeding 
great  love  I  had  for  one  of  her  daughters,  I  do  not  know  what  might  have 
been,  and  if  I  should  live  fifty  years  longer  and  she  should  have  another 
period  of  widowhood,  I  don't  know  but  it  might  be.  [Laughter.]  Of 
course,  I  feel  very  tenderly  connected  with  this  people.  I  have  been 
working  on  your  borders  all  the  days  of  my  life,  forty-seven  years,  just 
as  long  as  Abel  Morgan  worked  in  Middletown  have  I  been  in  this  town- 
ship, and  on  the  borders  of  this  Church.  It  seems  unnecessary  that  I 
should  dwell  upon  my  labors — my  good  Brother,  the  senior  deacon  of  my 
Church,  gave  you  a  pretty  good  idea  of  what  they  are.  I  hope  for  good 
results  from  this  gathering,  that  our  hearts  shall  be  cemented  more  and 
more.  I  think  there  is  the  best  of  feeling  between  us  and  the  mother  of 
the  third  daughter — shall  I  call  her— and  that  we  heartily  rejoice  in  her 
prosperity  ;  I  certainly  do. 

I  think  of  the  number  of  years  I  have  lived  in  this  county,  in  this  town- 
ship of  Middletown,  beginning  at  Kej^port  in  1841,  the  first  Pastor  there, 
laboring  there  until  it  was  necessary  that  something  should  be  done — 
they  had  outgrown  me  or  I  had  outgrown  them,  I  don't  know  which,  and 
I  had  to  leave.  I  then  sought  a  connection  with  the  second  daughter.  I 
was  there  awhile,  and  I  don't  know  but  it  would  have  been  a  permanent 
connection,  but  another  child  was  born  near  my  own  dwelling  and  I 
thought  it  best,  perhaps,  that  I  should  go  there.  So  3'ou  see  what  my 
labors  have  been.  If  I  had  had  the  spirit,  the  mind  and  heart  of  Abel 
Morgan,  whose  memory  we  celebrate  to-day,  what  might  I  not  have  done? 
I  say  to  you,  young  men  who  are  going  on  in  the  ministr}',  working 


and  toiling — catch  this  spirit,  this  inspiration  of  to-da}-,  and  from  this 
time  on  live  and  labor  as  he  did,  and  the  resnlts  of  your  labors  will  be 
seen  in  the  coming  days.  I  have  been  a  many-sided  man,  and  have  not 
given  my  service  as  perhaps  I  should  have  done.  I  have  been  a  layman 
and  a  preacher,  and  toiled  out  from  home,  far  and  near,  and  maybe  in  the 
final  recounting  I  have  done  something  in  training  up  this  Church  to 
what  it  now  is,  that  good  may  come  to  the  denomination,  but  there  are 
times  when  I  think  that  if  I  had  only  cut  loose  from  everything  else  and 
given  my  whole  time  and  attention  to  the  ministry  in  every  respect — 
though  I  never  failed  to  preach,  never  gave  up  in  any  sense — I  might 
have  made  a  mark  higher  than  I  have  done.  A  preacher  of  this  town, 
now  gone,  on  one  occasion  said  to  me,  "  Brother  Wilson,  if  3'ou  give  your 
whole  time  to  the  ministry  you  will  make  a  greater  impression  in  the 
county  of  Monmouth  than  anyone  made  before,"  and  I  think  sometimes 
if  I  had  done  this  I  would  have  made  a  different  record  from  what  I  have 
made,  and  yet  in  the  lines  of  labor  in  which  I  have  operated  some  good 
may  have  been  done. 


90 

Mr.  Buchanan  read  the  following  letter  from  Rev.  T.  E.  Vas- 
sar,  D.D.,  formerly  Pastor  at  Flemington  and  at  the  South  Church, 
Newark,  now  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  member  of  the  Bi-Centen- 
nial  Committee,  but  who  left  for  the  West  before  our  grand  cele- 
bration : 

413  Landis  Court,  K.\nsas  City,  INIo.,  Oct.  22d,  1S88. 

Dear  Brother  Hopping  How  I  would  like  to  be  at  old  Middletown 
next  week  !  In  spirit  I  shall  be  there,  joying  and  rejoicing  with  you  all, 
but  in\'  hands  and  feet  must  be  at  work  out  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri. 

Of  course  I  have  not  the  memories  of  a  lifetime  hanging  about  the  old 
Church  as  you  and  man}'  others  have,  bvit  m}-  acquaintance  of  sixteen 
years  abounds  in  pleasant  recollections  and  associations  ;  and,  as  if  I 
were  still  a  New  Jersey  Baptist,  I  congratulate  you  on  this  record  of  two 
hundred  3'ears.     Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  has  humorously  said  : 

"  Little  of  all  we  value  here 
Wakes  on  the  morn  of  its  hundredth  year 
Without  looking  and  feeling  very  queer." 

Your  Church,  however,  is  surely  an  exception  to  the  witty  poet's  rule. 
It  wakes  on  its  two  hundredth  anniversar}-  without  looking  at  all  queer. 
Its  house  of  worship  is  a  little  better  than  it  was  in  Abel  Morgan's  day  ; 
its  roll  of  members  is  a  little  longer  ;  its  resources  are  a  little  larger,  but 
the  old  gospel  that  Abel  Morgan  preached  is  preached  among  you  still, 
and  the  ordinances  are  kept  as  Abel  Morgan  kept  them,  and  as  the  INIaster 
gave  them  centuries  before.  If  the  men  and  women  of  168S  were  to  come 
back,  they  would  quickly  recognize  their  descendants  of  1888,  and  would 
bless  God  that  the  old  banner  they  lifted  was  floating  still.  May  that 
banner  be  kept  lifted  till  your  fields  have  ceased  to  yield,  and  your 
orchards  to  bloom  and  fruit. 

Of  course  you  will  have  a  good  time  at  the  Bi-Centennial.  You  cannot 
help  having  a  good  time  on  such  historic  ground,  and  with  such  services. 
May  the  Lord's  banner  over  3'ou  be  love,  and  we  all  be  present  at  that 
gladder  gathering,  when  they  shall  come  from  the  east,  and  the  west,  and 
the  north,  and  the  south,  and  sit  down  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

With  congratulations  to  the  Church,  and  greetings  to  all  the  dear 
brethren  so  often  met  in  the  past,  I  am, 

As  ever,  yours,  ^_  ^_  VASSAR. 


91 


Slosing    Sonc],     -     "  0od    be    With    fou    till    We   JMeet  Aqain." 


God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again  ! 
By  His  counsels  guide,  uphold  3'ou, 
With  His  sheep  securely  fold  3^ou  ; 

God  be  with  you  till  me  meet  again  ! 

Chorus. 

Till  we  meet  !  till  we  meet ! 
Till  we  meet  at  Jesus'  feet ; 
Till  we  meet  !  till  we  meet ! 
God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again. 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again  ! 
'Neath  His  wings  securely  hide  you, 
Daily  manna  still  provide  j^ou  ; 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again  I — Cho. 

God  be  with  3'ou  till  we  meet  again  ! 
When  life's  perils  thick  confound  3'ou, 
Put  His  loving  arms  around  you  : 

God  be  with  3'ou  till  we  meet  again  I — Cho. 


^enediotion    and    ^Adjournment. 


92 


On  Wednesday  morning,  October  31st,  the  "New  Jersey  Baptist 
State  Convention  ' '  commenced  its  regular  business,  and  continued 
throughout  the  day  with  its  various  interesting  reports. 

On  Wednesday  afternoon  the  Annual  Sermon  before  the  State 
Convention  was  preached  by  Rev.  H.  C.  Applegarth,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  the  Annual  Sermon  before  the  Education  Societ}^,  by  Rev. 
G.  E.  Horr. 

Wednesday  evening,  addresses  were  delivered  b}-  Rev.  William 
RoUinson,  on  "  Some  Eessons  from  the  Past,"  and  by  Rev.  James  T. 
Dickenson,  of  Orange,  on  "The  Duty  and  the  Hope  of  the  Hour." 

OBITUARY  REPORT, BY  DR.  W.  H.  PARMLY. 

ADJOURNMENT. 


Rev.  E.  EVERETT  JONES,  A.  M. 


Present    Pastor  of    the    Midoletov/n    Baptist    Church. 


93 


Comments  of  the  Press. 


The  following  accounts  of  the  anniversaries  of  the  New  Jersey 
Baptist  Education  Society,  the  New  Jersey  State  Convention  and 
the  Bi-Centennial  of  Middletown  Church,  are  taken  from  The  Neiv 
York  Christian  hiqiiirer  and  Mataiuan  Journal  (N.  J.),  and  are 
published  in  this  volume  as  indicative  of  what  the  press  thought 
and  said  of  the  exercises. 

THE    NEW    JERSEY    ANNIVERSARIES. 

[From  The  New  York  Christian  Inquirer,  November  8th,  1888.] 

October  30. — Your  correspondent  since  returning  home  has  thrown 
away  some  portion  of  his  notes  written  while  attending  the  anniversaries 
of  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  Education  Society,  the  New  Jersey  Baptist  State 
Convention  and  the  Bi-Centennial  of  the  Middletown  Church.  In  view 
of  the  enthusiasm  roused  by  the  meetings,  no  suggestions  or  criticisms 
would  be  entertained  by  your  readers.  For  it  must  be  conceded  that 
New  Jersey  has  witnessed  a  notable  gathering. 

The  Education  Society  was  in  session  when  the  delegation  from  New- 
ark and  vicinity  arrived.  The  Church  of  Middletown  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing ;  something  more  than  the  meeting  of  the  Education  Society'  must 
have  called  them  together.  The  decorations  tell  the  story.  On  the  pulpit 
there  are  two  century  plants,  on  one  side  of  the  pulpit,  wrought  in  fresh 
green  leaves,  is  the  number  1888,  on  the  other,  in  the  brightest  of  autumnal 
foliage,  1688.  Rev.  O.  P.  Eaches,  D.D.,  Secretary,  read  his  report,  which 
stated  that  the  Society  had  aided  thirty-one  young  men  who  are  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  and  had  received  the  sum  of  ^^2,200  on  contribution, 
beside  a  legacy  of  12,500.  The  officers  of  last  year,  W.  H.  Parmly,  D.D., 
President,  and  O.  P.  Eaches,  D.D.,  Secretary,  were  re-elected.  These 
ofiicers,  as  delegate  and  alternate,  were  appointed  to  attend  the  next  session 


94 

of  the  Baptist  Education  Society  in  May.  A  committee  of  seven,  includ- 
ing the  Secretar}',  were  appointed  to  consider  the  wisdom  of  making  such 
changes  in  the  charter  of  the  Society  as  will  enable  it  to  extend  its  aid  to 
young  women  who  are  preparing  for  missionar}^  work.  A  large  number 
of  delegates  favored  immediate  action  ;  probably  a  majority  would  have 
directed  the  committee  to  secure  the  change  at  once,  but  they  3'ielded  to 
the  conservative  part3-.     New  Jersey  seldom  changes  her  methods. 

The  Rev.  R.  F.  Y.  Pierce  then  made  the  first  of  the  four  addresses  upon 
the  programme.  The  subject  given  him  was,  "  How  are  we  to  secure  the 
right  material  for  an  effective  ministry  ?  " 

Three  excellent  addresses  followed.  Rev.  Addison  Parker  told  vis 
"  How  are  we  most  effectively  to  help  them?"  i.  e.  students  for  the  min- 
istry. He  urged  men  to  come  into  relations  of  sympathy  with  the 
students.  "If  you  haven't  got  a  student  in  your  Church,  then  borrow 
one."  Bro.  Parker  made  a  happy  allusion  to  Squire  and  "  Robert 
Elsmere,"  who  admitted  that  babies  were  necessar}-,  for  otherwise  the 
human  race  would  not  continue.  This  allusion  furnished  Dr.  H.  K.  Trask, 
of  the  South  Jersey  Academy,  with  his  topic.  Said  he  in  substance:  "  Pas- 
tors are  sometimes  asked  to  instruct  their  people  in  relation  to  the  interme- 
diate state.  Many  students  for  the  ministry  are  in  the  intermediate  state 
when  they  come  to  us.  You  care  for  them  before  they  come  and  after 
they  leave.  Pray  make  some  provision  for  them  while  they  are  with  us. 
Don't  expect  these  babies  to  exist  forever  in  the  intermediate  state,  but 
help  us  to  get  them  out.  The  race  of  ministers  cannot  exist  without  you 
do  this."  Dr.  John  Green,  of  Peddie  Institute,  preceded  Dr.  Tra.sk.  I\Ien 
demand,  he  said,  that  education  should  be  practical.  "Education  is  the 
full  development  of  a  human  being  in  the  three  capacties  of  the  ph3^sical, 
intellectual  and  the  spiritual."  Only  the  Christian  school  aims  at 
development  in  all  these  capacities.  You  cause  a  young  man  to  run  a 
great  risk  when  you  place  him  in  an  atmosphere  where  they  seek  to 
develop  the  intellect  and  forget  Christ. 

Both  Dr.  Trask  and  Dr.  Green  are  practical  men.  If  that  is  the  demand, 
they  supply  it.  They  know  the  value  of  minutes,  they  cut  short  their 
remarks,  though  to  our  loss,  so  that  the  session  adjourned  nearly  on  time. 

Dinner  was  served  in  the  temperance  hotel  near  by.  Fully  seven  hun- 
dred people  dined  there.  Not  more  than  one  hundred  and  twentj^-five 
could  be  served  at  one  time.  The  rest  waited,  however,  with  commend- 
able patience  until  their  turn  came. 


95 

The  Bi-Centennial  and  Memorial  Exercises  oe  the  Middletown 

Church. 

Afternoon  Sessioti. 

The  State  Convention  last  year  voted  to  meet  in  1888  with  the  Church 
of  Plainfield.  This  resolution  was  changed  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the 
Middletown  Church  to  meet  with  them  at  the  time  of  their  Bi-Centennial. 

The  Pastor,  Rev.  E.  E.  Jones,  prepared  us  by  his  warm  words  of  wel- 
come for  the  good  things  to  follow.  The  President  of  the  Convention, 
Mr.  F.  W.  Ayer,  after  making  his  own  appropriate  address,  introduced 
"  a  young  man  from  Jersey  City,  who,  when  a  boy,  went  out  from  this 
Church  to  prepare  for  the  ministry."  And  our  venerable  friend,  Dr.  W. 
H.  Parmly,  arose.  No  one  better  than  Dr.  Parmly  could  tell  the  story  of 
the  Middletown  Church,  especially  the  scenes  of  which  he  had  been  an 
eye  witness. 

What  a  mighty  work  of  grace  was  that  which  came  upon  the  Church  in 
1 85 1.  Dr.  Parmly  declared  that  probably  500  persons  were  converted  in 
the  neighborhood.  Eighty-two  were  baptized  on  one  occasion  by  the  Pas- 
tor, Rev.  David  B.  Stout.  Following  Dr.  Parmly  came  the  singing  of  the 
Bi-Centennial  Hymn,  written  for  the  day  by  Rev.  Robert  Lowry,  D.D. 

A  cousin  of  the  Rev.  Abel  Morgan  is  yet  living  ;  he  is  the  well-known 
Hon.  Horatio  Gates  Jones.  He  was  introduced,  and  what  he  said  was 
well  worth  the  hearing.  Abel  Morgan  was  for  nearly  half  a  century  Pas- 
tor of  the  Middletown  Church.  The  history  of  this  mighty  man,  as  it  was 
told  during  the  afternoon,  proved  that  his  memory  merits  the  title,  which 
all  the  speakers  of  the  day  delighted  to  quote,  —the  Incomparable  Morgan. 

"  Two  hundred  years  of  New  Jersey  Baptist  History."  This  paper,  by 
the  Rev.  O.  P.  Eaches,  D.D.,  will  be  published  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Con- 
vention. All  who  read  it  will  agree  that  New  Jersej'  has  a  man  equal  to 
an  occasion. 

Plant  a  Bible,  said  Dr.  Eaches,  and  a  Baptist  will  spring  up  ;  bring 
Baptists  together  and  they  will  organize  a  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  Fifty 
years  before  Washington  was  born  the  Baptists  of  New  Jersey  organized 
Churches,  confident  that  in  time  the  whole  world  would  heed  their  claim 
that  the  Church  of  Christ  should  consist  only  of  Chri.st's  people.  Our 
early  Baptist  preachers  were  Home  ^Mission  Societies  and  State  Conven- 
tions in  themselves.     One  Pastor  did  mission  work  in  North  Carolina, 


96 

another  labored  among  the  Indians.  New  Jerse3^  led  the  Baptists  in  edu- 
cation. In  our  school  at  Hopewell,  Manning  and  James  were  trained. 
For  two  hundred  years  we  have  had  no  new  doctrines.  In  polity  we  have 
taken  no  departures.     Heroic  measures  of  discipline  were  often  enforced. 

Dr.  Baches  consented  to  wait  till  evening  before  finishing  his  address. 
The  programme  of  the  day  provided  for  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  to 
the  memory  of  Abel  Morgan,  for  nearly  half  a  century  Pastor  of  the 
Middletown  Church.  This  monument  had  been  erected  by  offerings  from 
the  Churches  of  the  State.  When  we  left  the  Church  we  could  not  suppress 
an  exclamation  of  surprise  at  the  size  of  the  crowd  outside.  It  filled  the 
little  church-yard  and  thronged  the  road.  One  man  had  climbed  a  locust 
tree,  and  in  the  barn-loft  opposite  was  the  ubiquitous  amateur  photo- 
grapher. Dr  Wilmarth  led  in  prayer.  The  Rev.  W.  V.  Wilson  made  the 
address.  Bro.  Wilson  could  be  heard  far  beyond  the  vast  throng.  But 
did  he  not  forget  to  draw  the  line  when  stating  that  Morgan  should  take 
rank  with  Luther,  Calvin  and  Knox,  and  with  Bunyan  and  Paul  ? 

It  was  quite  dark  when  we  sat  down  to  supper.  Outside  the  hotel 
the  throng,  waiting  patiently  in  the  darkness  and  cold,  began  to  sing. 
Probably  the  horizon  of  many  was  bounded  by  the  supper  table,  but  we 
heard  the  swelling  chorus,  "  In  the  sweet  by-and-by." 

Eve) ling  Session. 

The  Church  was  early  filled.  After  the  devotional  exercises,  Dr.  Baches 
resumed.  The  history  of  the  anti-mission  controversy  was  given.  He 
outlined  the  career  of  the  State  Convention  and  of  the  Bducation  Society, 
which  he  said  is  a  society  for  changing  mone}-  into  men. 

"  Historical  Incidents ' '  and  ' '  Happy  Reminiscences ' '  was  the  next  order 
of  the  evening.  Rev.  D.  J.  Yerkes,  D.D.,  was  the  first  speaker.  Churches 
are  born  from  above,  hence  their  obligations  are  great.  Our  obligations 
are  increased  because  of  the  men  who  have  labored  here.  ' '  Here 
preached  the  Rev.  Thomas  Roberts,  that  dear,  loving  man  whom  I  knew 
in  my  childhood."  We  have  had  a  galaxy  of  the  faithful  in  this  State, 
Father  Webb,  Zelotes  Grenell,  Henr}^  C.  Fish,  H.  F.  Smith  and  others. 
Through  these  men  conies  the  true  apostolic  succession. 

Mr.  Thomas  Roberts  was  introduced.  He  is  the  son  of  that  Pastor  to 
whom  Dr.  Yerkes  referred,  and  is  now  in  his  eighty-second  j-ear.  "Six- 
ty-two years  ago  Churches  were  somewhat  opposed  to  Missions  and 
Sunday-schools  ;  father  preached  the  truth,  and  in  a  little  over  a  year's 


97 

time  established  a  school.  Sixty-two  years  ago  throughout  this  portion 
of  the  State  every  one  invited  their  visitors  to  take  whiskey  ;  it  was  pro- 
vided at  funerals  and  weddings.  Father  preached  a  sermon  and  at  the 
close  the  temperance  pledge  was  signed  by  sixty-nine  persons.  Before 
this  time  people  carried  their  little  jugs  openly,  but  now,  when  they  went 
by  our  house  they  were  forced  to  conceal  their  jugs  in  a  red  handker- 
chief" Several  in  the  audience  laughed.  The  dear  old  man  looked  at 
them  with  wonder.  What  did  they  mean  ?  The  political  allusion  began 
to  dawn  upon  him,  and  the  house  roared. 

Rev.  Kelsey  Walling  followed.  He  was  licensed  by  this  Church  to 
preach  the  gospel.  Among  other  things,  he  remembered  that  during  a 
revival  a  brother  in  this  Church  publicly  sought  reconciliation  with  his 
neighbor.  The  neighbor  was  led  to  Christ  by  this  example,  and  the 
influence  was  widespread. 

Revs.  Wm.  D.  Hires,  T.  S.  Griffith  and  W.  W.  Case  had  served  as  Pas- 
tors the  "  Twin-Sister"  Church  of  Holmdel,  the  last  mentioned  still  con- 
tinuing in  that  relation.  They  each  made  ten-minute  speeches.  Bro. 
Griffiths  told  of  a  woman  and  her  son  who  walked  twentj'-four  miles  to 
hear  the  gospel  ;  her  son  was  converted  that  day  while  witnessing  the 
ordinance  of  baptism. 

Bro.  Baches  was  called  by  the  President,  but  he  gave  his  time  to  Rev. 
J.  M.  Carpenter,  another  of  our  venerable  men.  He  knew  two  preachers 
of  the  State  of  whom  a  business  man  said  to  Bro.  Carpenter:  "I  am 
ready  to  give  unlimited  credit  to  any  man  who  has  been  under  the  train- 
ing of  either."  Brethren  Knowlton,  Dexter,  Manning,  Boyes  and  Wil- 
son are  Pastors  of  the  respective  Churches  which  were  organized  by  mem- 
bers who  went  out  from  "Old  IMiddletown."  Of  course  the  committee 
had  invited  these  brethren  to  speak,  and  inasmuch  as  the  IMiddletown 
Church  had  employed  a  stenographer  to  report  what  the}'  might  sa}-  for 
publication  in  the  memorial  volume  which  the  Church  will  publish,  they 
had  to  speak,  though  the  audience  was  silently  crying  for  mercy.  It  was 
twenty  minutes  to  eleven  o'clock  when  the  benediction  was  pronounced. 

The  State  Convention. 

October  31.— The  State  Convention  began  its  regular  session  on 
Wednesday  morning,  but  not  on  time.  Six  people  in  the  house  when 
the  hour  came  for  opening  the  services.  No  one  could  complain,  as  many 
delegates  who  were  cared  for  by  hosts  living  miles  away  did  not  retire 


98 

before  midnight.  How  could  they  return  by  nine  o'clock  the  next 
morning  ? 

After  Psalm  92  was  read  and  prayer  offered,  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Missions  was,  in  the  absence  of  Rev.  S.  C.  Dare,  read  by  the 
Secretary.  Brethren  F.  A.  Slater  reported  on  Home  Missions,  A.  R.  Dilts 
on  Bible  Work,  and  M.  V.  McDuffie  on  the  Publication  Society.  The 
Rev.  W.  W.  Case  presented  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  State  Work. 
He  reported  a  substantial  progress  in  all  work,  and  an  increase  of  at  least 
|i,ooo  in  contributions.  The  number  of  baptisms  for  the  whole  State  had 
not  been  figured  up  when  the  report  was  read. 

The  Secretary,  Rev.  J.  C.  Buchanan  read  the  report  of  the  Executive 
Board.  This  stated  that  twentN'-nine  Churches  had  received  aid  from  the 
Convention  during  the  year,  and  120  persons  had  been  baptized  by  the 
Missionary  Pastors.  The  financial  condition  had  improved.  The  Board 
received  a  legac}^  of  $500  in  cash,  and  a  mortgage  of  $2,000  ;  the  Board 
deemed  it  wise  to  keep  the  mortgage  as  an  investment,  hoping  in  time  to 
receive  other  funds,  the  interest  of  which  would  be  sufiicient  to  sustain  a 
State  Missionary.  The  contributions  in  cash  were  $5,826.90  ;  disburse- 
ments, $5,412.21  ;  cash  on  hand,  $414.69. 

The  time  appointed  for  the  annual  sermon  had  passed  by  just  one  hour. 
In  thirt}'  minutes  we  would  have  to  adjourn.  Rev.  G.  E.  Horr  sug- 
gested that  he  could  read  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Temperance  at 
this  juncture,  and  thus  provide  time  for  the  sermon  in  the  afternoon. 
This  was  very  courteous  of  Bro.  Horr.  He  also  was  appointed  to  preach 
in  the  afternoon  and  the  audience  would  sureh'  be  wearied  before  he  began. 

Mr.  Samuel  Colgate  spoke  on  the  importance  of  taking  care  of  our 
Church  documents.  He  urged  that  the  history  of  the  past  two  hun- 
dred years  proved  the  need  of  the  effort  he  was  now  making  in  this  direc- 
tion. His  address  made  a  great  impression.  Fewer  Church  minutes  will 
be  used  for  lighting  fires. 

The  Committee  on  Temperance  presented  the  report.  A  little  breeze 
was  expected,  and  we  escaped  it  by  a  very  narrow  margin.  The  adjourn- 
ment, however,  gave  the  opportunity  for  prolonged  discussions  outside. 

Afternoon  Session. 

Bro.  C.  li.  Jones  led  in  praj'er.  The  Committee  on  Place  and  Preacher 
reported  that  we  meet  in  Salem,  and  that  J.  T.  Dicken.son  preach  the 
sermon.     A  discussion  followed  on  the  relation  of  our  denominational 


99 

societies  to  our  Convention.  A  committee  appointed  to  consider  this 
matter  had  recommended  that  each  of  our  three  societies  have  fifteen 
minutes  in  which  to  present  their  appeal  ;  a  substitute  was  offered  doing 
away  with  the  reports.  In  the  midst  of  the  discussion  the  order  of  the 
da}'  was  called.  After  singing  and  pra3-er  the  annual  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  H.  C.  Applegarth,  from  Acts  i:  i— "The  former 
treatise  have  I  made,  O  Theophilus,  of  all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do 
and  to  teach,  until  the  daj^  in  which  he  was  taken  up." 

The  work  of  Christ  continues  ;  the  worker  is  the  same,  the  method  is 
changed.     He  works  now  through  the  Church.     This  fact  determines — 

I.  The  function  of  the  Church .  («)  To  body  Christ  forth  to  view.  (<&)  To 
witness  for  Christ,  if)  To  be  the  medium  for  the  manifestation  of  His 
glory.  "  In  a  word,  the  Church  is  to  continue  with  persistent  effort  and 
increasing  fervor,  simply  to  preach  and  teach  Jesus  the  Christ." 

II.  The  obligations  involved,  (a)  Loyalty  to  Christ,  (d)  Debtorship  to 
the  world,  by  reason  of  what  she  has  received  for  the  world,  (r)  Spirit- 
uality,    (d)  Humility. 

III.  The  inspiration  of  the  Church,  (a)  The  Lordship  of  Christ,  {b) 
Relationship  to  Christ,     {c)  The  memories  of  the  dead. 

Is  it  necessary  to  say  that  the  sermon  was  a  masterly  one  ?  What  the 
Convention  thought  of  it  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  when  the  President 
put  the  motion  requesting  the  sermon  for  publication  in  the  Minutes, 
there  came  back  from  the  house  the  heartiest  "aye"  that  this  assembly 
has  heard. 

The  Treasurer,  Asa  Suydam,  read  his  report.  It  was  voted  to  accept  it. 
Some  minor  business  was  transacted,  and  then  Brother  George  E.  Horr 
preached  the  annual  sermon  before  the  Educational  Society.  The  text 
was  Jer.  12  :  5.  "If  thou  hast  run  with  the  footmen,  and  they  have 
wearied  thee,  then  how  canst  thou  contend  with  horses.?  And  if  in  the 
land  of  peace,  wherein  thou  tru.stedst,  they  wearied  thee,  then  how  wilt 
thou  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jordan  ?  "  Theme  :  Lesser  difficulties  a  prepa- 
ration for  greater.  Society  is  not  favorable  to  the  gospel.  Greater  trials 
will  come  upon  the  Church.  The  ministry  must  be  prepared  for  these 
trials.  What  shall  our  preparation  be .?  The  highest  possible  culture  is 
demanded,  the  best  of  discipline  is  needed.  Above  all,  absolute  depend- 
ence on  the  Holy  Spirit.  Brother  Horr  spoke  as  a  prophet.  There  was  a 
deep  experience  and  a  ring  of  conviction  in  all  he  said.  It  was  a  pity  all 
the  people  did  not  wait  to  hear  this  excellent  discourse. 


lOO 

The  State  Convention  resumed  its  session.  Brother  Griffiths  led  in 
prayer  on  behalf  of  Rev.  Isaac  C.  Wj-nn,  D.D.,  who  for  months  past  has 
been  dangerousl}-  ill. 

The  resolution  to  give  fifteen  minutes  only  to  our  denominational 
societies  was  finally  passed. 

It  was  voted  that  hereafter  a  space  of  time  not  exceeding  two  hours 
should  be  given  to  our  Missionary  Pastors  in  which  to  present  the  tidings 
from  their  fields. 

Wednesday  Evening  Sessioyi. 

Some  of  the  best  wine  has  been  saved  for  the  last  of  the  feast.  The 
very  bones  of  Brother  J.  T.  Dickenson's  skeletons  are  almost  as  good  as 
the  life  which  he  knows  so  well  how  to  put  on  them.  Is  there  not  genius 
displayed  in  this  plan  of  his  ? 

"A  four- fold  vision  for  a  many-fold  success." 

1.  A  vision  of  New  Jersey  as  related  to  other  States. 

2.  A  vision  of  Baptists  as  related  to  other  denominations. 

3.  A  vision  of  strong  Churches  as  related  to  the  weak. 

4.  A  vision  of  Christ  as  related  to  all  Christian  work. 

Rev.  Wm.  Rollinson,  D.D.,  speaks  on  "Some  Teachings  of  the  Past." 
The  past  is  the  great  teacher,  its  problems  are  solved,  i.  The  might  of 
moral  courage.  2.  The  invincible  pause  of  truth.  3.  The  strength  of 
the  Church  lies  in  its  acceptance  of  truth,  in  its  developments  both  social 
and  spiritual. 

The  obituary  report  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Parmly  closes  the  Convention. 

\V.  F.  T. 


lOI 


THE   BAPTIST  ANNIVERSARIES. 

Two   Hundredth  Birthday  of  the   Baptist   Church  oe   Middle- 
town,  N.  J. 

[From  the  Matawan  Journal,  Matawan,  N.  J.,  November  3d,  1888.] 

Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  October  30th  and  31st,  were  wonderful  days  in 
the  annals  of  the  old  Revolutionary  village  of  Middletown.  Long  years 
before  the  Colonies  thought  of  asserting  and  fighting  for  their  independ- 
ence from  the  yoke  of  Britain,  a  little  hamlet  sprung  into  existence  in 
the  rich  heart  of  our  county,  and*  our  ancestors  called  it  Middletown. 
And  in  this  little  village,  not  grown  much  larger  even  now,  though 
recently  inspired  with  a  new  life,  there  was  built  two  hundred  years  ago  a 
Baptist  Church.  Before  the  organization  of  this  society,  however,  there 
was  Baptist  preaching  in  a  dwelling  at  or  near  Holmdel,  and  he  field  of 
original  work  of  the  Pastor  at  Middletown  embraced  the  area  from  north 
and  east  of  Middletown  to  Holradel,  of  about  twenty  miles  diameter. 

It  was  therefore  fitting  that  the  Baptists  of  New  Jersey  should  hold  their 
anniversaries  this  year  with  this  old  ante-Revolutionary  Church,  the 
original  building  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  one  having  been 
a  witness  to  the  line  of  advance  or  retreat  of  the  armies  that  made  us  a 
nation  by  defeat  of  the  one  and  triumph  of  the  other. 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

As  preparatory  to  the  Bi-Centennial,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  new 
Pastor,  Rev.  E.  E.  Jones,  marked  improvements  have  been  made  to  the 
edifice  and  its  surroundings.  An  additional  piece  of  land  has  been  pur- 
chased at  the  west  side  of  the  Church,  and  on  the  rear  of  this  new  lot 
have  been  erected  sheds  for  the  accommodation  of  twenty-four  teams,  so 
that  the  farmers  who  drive  in  for  service  will  no  longer  have  to  expose 
their  animals  to  inclemency  and  cold.  A  baptistery  has  been  added  to  the 
rear  of  the  Church,  the  walls  and  inside  wood-work  have  been  painted, 
and  other  changes  made.  And  yet  the  exterior  enclosure  remains  of 
shingles,  and  the  modern  and  antique  commingle  in  attractive  harmony. 

EXPRESSIVE    EMBLEMS. 

The  handiwork  of  art  had  united  with  the  products  of  nature  to  give 
added  attraction  to  the  interior  of  the  Church  for  this  Bi-Centennial  occa- 


T02 

sion.  Down  the  wide  coltimns  that  fronted  each  side  of  the  recess  where 
the  pulpit  stands  were  the  typical  figures  that  mark  the  two  centuries  of 
the  Church's  existence.  The  figures  "1688"  were  made  with  the  har- 
mony of  vari-tinted  sere  leaves  of  autumn  down  the  left-hand  column, 
while  down  the  right-hand  column  the  figures  "1888"  were  worked  in 
evergreen.  On  each  side  of  the  pulpit  stood  two  large  and  handsome 
century  plants,  telling  of  the  two  centuries  of  Church  life,  while  yellow 
chrysanthemums  were  formed  in  bouquets,  and  the  ivy  vine  trailed  from 
each  of  the  two  pots  that  held  the  century-  plants. 

Tjiesday  Morning. 

The  first  session  was  the  anniversary  of  the  Education  Society,  and 
was  opened  at  9:30  with  devotional  services,  conducted  b}-  Rev.  W.  H. 
Parmly,  of  Jersey  City,  President  of  the  Society. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  session  opened  for  general  business,  reports  from 
officers,  etc.,  after  which  Rev.  R.  F.  Y.  Pierce,  of  Mount  Holly,  made  an 
address  on  "How  are  we  to  secure  the  right  material  for  an  effective  min- 
istrj^?"  Rev.  Addison  Parker,  of  Morristown,  followed  with  a  ver}'  forci- 
ble address  on  "How  are  we  most  effectively  to  help  them?" 

After  brief  but  excellent  addresses  by  Dr.  John  Greene  and  Dr.  H.  K. 
Trask,  the  morning  session  closed. 

During  the  rece.ss,  the  delegates  and  friends  were  entertained  with  a 
bountiful  and  excellent  collation,  provided  by  the  ladies  of  JNIiddletown 
and  vicinity,  and  spread  in  the  temperance  hotel  near  the  Church. 

Memorial  Services. 
Afternoon. 
The  session  was  opened  at  2:30  with  a  service  of  song,  conducted  by 
Mr.  II.  Gulick,  of  Brooklyn,  who  had  charge  of  all  the  singing  of  the  day. 
vSelections  of  Scripture  were  then  read  bj-  Rev.  J.  K.  Manning,  of  Red 
Bank,  and  prayer  was  offered   for  the  prosperity  of  the  Church  and  of 
Christianity  in  general. 
The  choir  and  congregation  then  sang  the  hymn — 

Lord,  we  come  before  Thee  now, 

At  Thy  feet  we  humbly  bow ; 
O,  do  not  our  suit  disdain  ; 

Shall  we  seek  Thee,  Lord,  in  vain  ? 


I03 

Rev.  E.  E.  Jones,  of  the  local  Church,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements,  reported  the  programme  for  the  da}-,  and  followed  it  by  a 
most  genial  and  happy  address  of  welcome,  referring  to  the  occasion  that 
brought  them  together  on  that  soil  made  sacred  b\'  the  religious  memories 
of  two  hundred  years. 

Mr.  F.  W.  Ayer,  of  Camden,  President  of  the  Convention,  then  delivered 
his  annual  address.  He  took  a  retrospect  of  the  fifty-nine  years  since  the 
Convention  was  organized,  and  the  great  work  that  had  been  done,  and 
charged  upon  those  present  that  upon  them  rested  part  of  the  responsi- 
bility for  what  the  Church  shall  be  a  hundred  5'ears  to  come.  He  urged 
faithful  work  in  all  departments  of  the  Church,  whether  the  societj'^  have 
a  Pastor  or  have  none  ;  the  individual  obligation  is  the  same. 

The  following  Bi-Centennial  Hymn  was  then  sung,  written  for  the  occa- 
sion by  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Lowry,  to  the  tune  Uxbridge  : 

O  Lord,  Tliou  art  our  living  head  ; 

What  precious  grace  our  life  has  crowned  ! 
We  seek  Thy  courts  with  reverent  tread, 

And  stand  as  if  on  holy  ground. 

Two  hundred  years!     O,  who  can  tell 

The  battles  fought,  the  victories  won  ? 
Though  men  who  bore  the  standard  fell, 

They  passed  it  on  from  sire  to  son. 

Our  feet  are  where  tlie  fathers  trod, 

Our  lips  recount  their  deeds  of  love ; 
As  ihey  were  true  to  Truth  and  Gotl, 

So  we  will  follow  them  above. 

All  blessed  and  triumphant  they 

Who  dropped  the  sword  for  palm  and  crown  ; 

The  godly  cease  :   but  we  to-day 

Take  up  the  work  which  they  laid  down. 

Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling  place 

In  all  the  generations  gone; 
Ujihold  us,  till  we  see  Thy  face 

When  breaks  on  earth  the  heavenly  dawn. 


I04 

A  historical  sketch  of  the  Middletown  Baptist  Church  was  then  read  by 
Rev.  W.  H.  Parmly,  of  Jersey  City.  It  was  ver}-  interesting,  and  the  facts 
that  had  come  under  the  personal  knowledge  of  the  venerable  Doctor,  who 
in  early  life  was  a  member  of  the  Church,  made  it  increasinglj'  so.  He 
took  up  the  several  pastorates  from  about  1712,  and  spoke  of  the  records 
of  pastoral  work  as  found  in  the  old  Church-book,  dwelling  at  some 
length  upon  the  great  work  of  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  who  was  the  Pastor 
from  1738  to  1785. 

After  his  paper,  Rev.  Dr.  Sj^mmes,  late  Moderator  of  the  Synod  of  New 
Jersey  (Presbyterian),  was  called  upon  to  offer  prayer,  after  which  the 
following  Commemoration  Anthem,  also  composed  b}^  Rev.  Dr.  Lowry, 
was  sung  by  the  choir  : 

For  thou,  O  God,  has  heard  my  vows: 

Thou  hast  given  me  the  heritage  of  those  that  fear  Thy  name. 

Thou  wilt  prolong  the  king's  life ;  and  his  years  as  many  generations. 

He  shall  abide  before  God  forever: 

O  prepare  mercy  and  truth,  which  may  preserve  him. 

So  will  I  sing  praise  unto  Thy  name  forever. 

Mr.  Horatio  Gates  Jones,  of  Philadelphia,  a  relative  of  the  late  Abel 
Morgan,  and  who  had  brought  with  him  an  oil  portrait  of  the  former  Pas- 
tor, was  then  introduced  and  spoke  of  the  work  of  his  ancestral  rela- 
tive, and  his  great  joy  at  the  privilege  of  being  present  at  this  memorial 
service. 

After  singing  the  hymn  commencing — 

"  Kindred  in  Christ,  for  His  dear  sake, 
A  hearty  welcome  here  receive ; 
May  we  together  now  partake 

The  joys  which  only  He  can  give," — 

Rev.  O.  P.  Baches,  of  Hightstown,  began  the  reading  of  a  very  interest- 
ing paper  on  "Two  Hundred  Years  of  New  Jersey  Baptist  History,"  but 
the  lateness  of  the  hour  encroaching  on  the  time  for  the  unveiling  of  the 
monument  to  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  compelled  him  to  leave  most  of  his 
paper  for  the  evening  session. 

The  audience  then  retired  from  the  Church  to  the  yard,  where  Rev.  Wm. 
V.  Wilson,  of  New  Monmouth,  read  a  biographical  sketch  of  Rev.  Abel 
Morgan,  whose  remains  had  been  taken  from  an  adjacent  graveyard  and 


I05 

buried  on  the  east  side  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  a  handsome  granite 
monument  erected  to  his  memory  bj'  contributions  from  200  Baptist 
Churches  in  New  Jersey.  It  was  a  really  remarkable  fact  that,  though 
he  has  been  dead  one  hundred  and  three  years,  when  the  grave  was  opened 
a  few  weeks  ago  there  lay  the  perfect  skeleton  of  the  deceased  Pastor, 
though  the  coffin,  clothing  and  flesh  were  gone.  The  inscription  on  the 
monument  reads  : 

In  Memory  of  Abel  Morgan, 

Pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Middletown, 

Who  departed  this  life 
Nov.  24,  1785, 

IN   THE    73D   YEAR    OF    HIS   AGE. 

His  Life  was  Blameless — 

His  Ministry  Powerful — 

He  was  a  Burning  and  Shining  Light — 

His  Memory  Dear  to  the  Saints. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  biography  the  song  "America  "  was  sung,  the 
monument  unveiled,  and  the  afternoon's  service  clo.sed  with  the  doxology 
and  benediction. 

Evening. 

After  a  collation  many  of  the  delegates  from  a  distance  returned  to 
their  homes,  but  those  who  remained  and  tho.se  from  the  village  and 
country  crowded  the  Church  in  the  evening.  After  a  service  of  song 
Rev.  Mr.  Eaches  finished  reading  his  ver^^  interesting  and  historically 
valuable  paper. 

The  rest  of  the  evening  was  chiefly  occupied  in  addresses  by  former 
Pastors,  or  Pastors  of  Churches  that  have  grown  out  of  the  Middletown 
Baptist  Church.  Among  others,  the  venerable  Thomas  Roberts,  of  New 
Monmouth,  whose  father  was  many  years  Pastor  at  Middletown,  spoke 
in  brief  and  feeble,  yet  excellent  words,  of  his  early  recollections,  espec- 
ially of  the  temperance  work  in  the  days  when  a  man's  whiskey  jug  was 
called  "  Black  Betty,"  and  when  men  drove  all  the  way  from  a  distillery 
in  Newark  j^eddling  liquors. 
8 


io6 

The  service  closed  with  the  h3'mn,  "God  be  with  3^011  till  we  meet 
again." 

Wed7tesday. 

The  morning  session  was  chief!}'  occupied  with  reports  from  the  several 
Committees,  on  Missions,  etc. 

Rev.  F.  A.  Slater,  of  Matawan,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Home 
Missions,  made  the  following  report : 

"The  work  of  Home  ^lissions,  wisely  and  efifectuallN-  performed,  means 
North  America  for  Christ ;  and  North  America  for  Christ  means  the  open- 
ing of  a  great  living  fountain,  to  which  not  onl^-  the  nations  of  the  earth 
may  come  and  be  healed,  but  also  from  whence  shall  issue  streams  of  the 
water  of  life  to  every  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"  God  has  placed  us  just  where  the  great  migrating  streams  of  humanitj' 
converge.  Looking  toward  the  east,  we  see  the  Papal  lands  pouring 
across  the  Atlantic  into  our  great  valle3^s  ;  and  looking  toward  the  west. 
Pagan  people  are  coming  to  us  from  the  Pacific. 

"  No  other  country,  sa3's  a  recent  writer,  which  represents  republican 
liberty  and  religious  Protestantism,  is  accessible  from  all  sides  or  offers 
space  to  accommodate  immigrants.  We  have  a  continent  capable  of  hold- 
ing more  than  twice  the  present  population  of  the  globe.  We  lie  between 
Europe  and  Africa  on  the  one  hand,  and  Asia  on  the  other.  This  area, 
that  is  also  an  arena  of  civilization  and  Christianization,  is  ours,  and  the 
nations  are  looking  down  on  us  as  from  the  corridors  of  some  vast,  world- 
wide Colosseum. 

"God  meant  that  emigration  should  drift  to  our  shores  from  both  sicjes, 
and  the  streams  of  humanit3^  from  every  nation  under  heaven,  are  pour- 
ing into  our  land  like  floods,  aggregating  half  a  million  annually.  They 
are  filling  our  valle3'S  and  covering  our  hill-sides. 

"To  evangelize  these  vast  numbers  and  prepare  them  for  Christian  citi- 
zenship, is  the  work  of  Home  Missions,  to  a  ver3^  great  extent.  Let  us 
look  at  what  the  society  is  doing.  And  for  information  we  look  chiefly 
to  the  admirable  and  comprehensive  report  presented  at  the  Washington 
meeting  in  May  last. 

"' Matters  of  special  note,'  sa3's  Secretar}- Morehouse,  'are  the  com- 
pletion and  occupancy  of  the  INIission  headquarters  in  the  city  of  Mexico, 
the  enlargement  of  our  work  in  that  Republic  ;  the  completion,  at  an 
expense  of  more  than  $20,000,   and  occupancj'  of   the  Chinese  Mission 


loy 

headquarters  in  San  Francisco  ;  the  securing  of  a  larger  amount  than 
usual  for  Church  Edifice  work  ;  the  appointment  of  an  additional  Super- 
intendent of  Missions  for  a  new  Western  district  ;  the  appointment  of  a 
District  Secretary  for  the  Southern  States  ;  the  beginning  of  Mission 
Work  among  the  Poles  and  the  Bohemians  of  this  country',  and  the  adop- 
tion of  a  new  School  for  the  Indian  Territory.  A  number  of  Churches 
have  become  self-supporting,  thereby  enabling  the  Society  to  take  up  new 
fields  in  the  West.  In  general,  the  year  has  been  characterized  b}-  efiicient 
service  and  prosperity. 

"  '  The  Society's  operations  have  been  conducted  during  the  past  year  in 
45  States  and  Territories  ;  also,  in  Ontario,  INIanitoba,  British  Columbia, 
Alaska,  and  three  States  of  the  Mexican  Republic.  The  whole  number 
of  laborers,  supported  wholly  or  in  part,  has  been  743  ;  being  65  more 
than  last  5-ear. 

"  '  Among  the  foreign  population  there  have  been  161  laborers  ;  among 
the  colored  people,  the  Indians  and  Mexicans,  including  teachers,  217,  and 
among  the  Americans,  355.  Sixty  new  stations  have  been  taken  up  the 
past  year.  Two  of  these  are  among  the  Indians,  one  among  the  Chinese, 
two  among  the  colored  people,  nine  among  the  foreign  population,  two 
among  the  Mexicans,  and  the  rest  among  our  own  people.'  " 

"  The  report  further  cries  aloud  :  '  The  great  stress  on  Home  Missions 
is  undiminished.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  to  be  greater  now  than  during 
the  two  or  three  preceding  5'ears.* 

"  In  view  of  all  these  things,  and  a  great  deal  more  that  might  be  said, 
we  are  to-daj'  confronted  with  such  Home  ^Mission  problems  as  are  pre- 
sented to  the  Christian  Church  in  no  other  land. 

"  And  now,  what  are  we  Bapti.sts  of  New  Jersej'  going  to  do  about  it  ? 
Are  we  willing,  as  true  men  and  women  of  God,  to  stand  in  our  lot  and 
place,  and  undertake  faithfully  to  perform  our  part  of  the  great  work 
which  the  Master  makes  ready  to  our  hand,  or  ignobly  refuse,  and  allow 
others  to  do  it,  and  rejoice  in  the  Divine  approval,  of  'Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  these,  ye  have 
done  it  unto  me  ;  enter  ye  into  the  J03'  of  your  Lord.  '  " 

The  chief  subject  in  the  afternoon  of  general  interest  was  the  annual 
sermon  before  the  Education  Societj',  by  Rev.  G.  E.  Horr. 

In  the  evening,  addresses  were  made  b}'  Rev.  Wm.  Rollinson  and  Rev. 
James  T.  Dickinson. 


io8 

Baptist  Convention  Notes. 

There  were  about  1,500  persons  present  at  the  memorial  services  on 
Tuesda}'  afternoon. 

The  present  Church  edifice  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  Revolution- 
ary Church  in  1832. 

Among  the  relics  exhibited  of  the  late  Rev.  Abel  Morgan  were  his 
quaint  old  spectacles,  and  the  sun-glass  through  which  he  would  con- 
verge the  sun's  rays  to  kindle  his  lint  for  starting  the  fire,  before  the 
good  days  of  friction  matches. 

Rev.  Abel  Morgan  lived  between  Middletown  and  Red  Bank.  He  was 
never  married,  but  supported  his  widowed  mother,  who  kept  house  for 
him,  and  the  old  chair  in  which  he  sat  in  his  study  was  exhibited  at  the 
Church. 

One  of  the  Baptist  preachers,  over  100  years  ago,  of  this  Baptist  Society, 
was  Rev.  John  Bray,  a  far-off  relative  of  the  editor  of  the  Maiaiva7i 
Journal. 


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